Nov 18 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Dave Dewitte The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Plans for a $7 million biodiesel plant in southeastern Washington County received a $400,000 boost from the state on Thursday.

Locally owned Riksch Biofuels plans to build the biodiesel plant in Crawfordsville. The plant would produce 9 million gallons of biodiesel fuel and provide a market for 6 million bushels of soybeans annually.

Plans for the biodiesel plant follow Iowa Renewable Energy LLC's announcement in August of plans for a $50 million plant that would make 30 million gallons of biodiesel annually from vegetable oil and animal fats.

IRE optioned 27 acres on the northeast edge of Washington for the plant.

Washington County Economic Development Group Director Ed Raber said Riksch Biofuels and IRE arose from the same feasibility study. The study was funded by WEDG, the Iowa Farm Bureau, the Iowa Soybean Association and the state.

Raber said Riksch founders Neil Rich of Hills and Don Miksch of Johnston were interested in Iowa Renewable Energy, but had a different concept that they decided to pursue independently.

"Their business models are different ... where they'll get their feedstock and how they see themselves distributing their final product," Raber said. "It's fairly feasible to think that both of these projects will move forward to completion."

The Iowa Department of Economic Development board awarded Riksch $400,000 from the Value-Added Agricultural Products and Processes Financial Assistance Program and benefits under the High Quality Job Creation Program at its meeting Thursday in Johnston.

The Riksch plant is expected to create 10 jobs. Nine of them will pay an average wage of $17.90 per hour.

Separately, the Department of Economic Development board approved:

--A $100,000 award to Vida Diagnostics of Coralville, which is planning to market medical image analysis software used to detect and profile lung diseases based on licenses from the University of Iowa.

--A $60,000 award to National Genecular Institute Inc. from the Community Economic Betterment Account program for a $7.8 million research and development facility at the UI's Oakdale Research Park in Coralville.

--High Quality Job Creation benefits for Highway Equipment Co.'s proposed expansion in Cedar Rapids.

The company is considering an 18,700- square-foot plant addition.