JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Jamestown Chamber/Ag Energy Committee presented it’s annual Ag Energy Luncheon on Tuesday at the North Dakota Farmers Union in Jamestown.

The guest speaker was Mike Keller of ADM. Keller gave an update of the $350 million dollar soybean crushing and refining complex being built in the Spiritwood Energy Park.

Keller said contractors arrived on site on June 21st to initiate demolition and abatement of the shuttered Cargill Malt Plant. The demolition and abatement is set to continue through December. They are on target for a completion date of the project for harvest of 2023.

According to Keller, the Spiritwood facility will have the capacity to process 150,000 bushels per day, converting into refined and bleached oil. The complex is expected to produce approximately 600 million pounds of refined soybean oil annually, enough feedstock for approximately 75 million gallons of renewable diesel per year. It is expected to process 53 million bushels per year, which is approximately 25-30% of the 200 million bushels produced annually in North Dakota.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Archer Daniels Midland Co. announced Aug. 19 an agreement to form a joint venture for the production of soybean oil to supply rapidly growing demand for renewable diesel fuel. The Spiritwood complex will produce 1.8 million pounds of oil that will be transported to Marathon Petroleum in Dickinson.

The construction of the new complex is supporting hundreds of jobs in the region, and the facility will employ approximately 75 people once operational. The Spiritwood complex is expected to begin production for the 2023 harvest.