RED WING, MINNESOTA, U.S. — Epitome Energy has announced plans to build a 21-million-bushel soybean extraction plant in Crookston, Minnesota, U.S. The new plant will crush soybeans, separate them into meal to be used as animal feed and oil, and then moved on to a 30-million-gallon biodiesel facility and specialty soybean mechanical extraction plant on site.

Construction on the plant is expected to begin in 2021. Once operational, the facility is expected to generate $322.8 million in new economic activity, according to the University of Minnesota Extension office.

“Northwest Minnesota has long been under-served in the area of value-added processing for the soybean growers,” said Dennis Egan, owner of Epitome Energy. “Over 1.8 million acres of soybeans are planted in the 10 counties surrounding Crookston, making this a strategic location for a project of this size.”

Based in Red Wing, Epitome Energy is a developer of value-added agriculture processing facilities.