Richard vandeSteeg II

Saint Petersburg, FL (USA)
Role(s):
Founder/Owner/Principal

Renewable Energy System LLC

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Location: Saint Petersburg
Industry: Bio-Technology
Year Founded: 2004
Number Employees: 1-10 people
Description: Renewable Energy Systems LLC (RES) will build first Port Biodiesel Plant in Florida. The plant will be the first commercial-sized facility of its type in the state and will annually produce 60,000,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel. It will be constructed on a 30-acre site, which the Port of Tampa has agreed to lease to RES. The feedstock will include various virgin vegetable oils (e.g., soybean, canola, rapeseed, corn, sunflower, palmolene, etc.), recyclable used oils (collectively known as “yellow grease”) and rendered animal fats (e.g., beef tallow, pork fats, fish oil or poultry fats). The output, biodiesel, is a renewable fuel for diesel engines that meets industry specifications and can be used in various blends/concentrations with petroleum-based diesel fuel in most existing diesel engines. The project is being undertaken to help America break its dependency on foreign oil. The RES biodiesel plant will use Ultra Share Mixing Technology to remove glycerin from the feedstock and refine the biodiesel. The crude glycerin byproduct is also a marketable industrial product and on-site glycerin refinement capacity will be provided to create value-added technical-grade glycerin from the crude glycerin byproduct. The feedstock will be obtained from such suppliers as F. C. Stone and Besecker & Associates, while such petroleum product distributors as Rissner Oil and Eco-Energy will buy the biodiesel. Feedstock will be purchased at market prices, while the biodiesel and refined glycerin byproduct will also be sold at market prices. A Feasibility Study, prepared by Frazier, Barnes & Associates, LLC (FBA), has been completed and demonstrates project feasibility, provided that the cost of oil remains above $80/barrel, which is a reasonable assumption given recent market conditions. While the project is feasible, there is inherent risk in any renewable energy project and private sector funds are not available to complete necessary pre-construction Phase I and Phase II engineering tasks. The facility construction cost is estimated at $80 million dollars, which will be raised from private equity sources. The facility is projected to become profitable within one year of achieving full operational capacity. Phases I and II engineering tasks will take 12 months to complete, with the construction period lasting 12 additional months. Thus, the proposed biodiesel plant will be on-line within 24 months of notice of grant award. The project will generate over 200 temporary FTE construction jobs at an estimated hourly rate of $25, along with at least 30 permanent living wage jobs at an average salary of $50,000, making the facility an exceptional economic development initiative in addition to a significant renewable energy resource endeavor. RES is a modest-sized biodiesel producer located in Pinellas County and active member of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB). Richard J. Van de Steeg, II, CEO, and Shawn Stafford, President, lead a team of 13 FTE employees. In addition to Mr. Van de Steeg and Mr. Stafford, who will serve as the Project Manager, the project implementation team includes Pete Moss of FBA and Praj. Together, the team has over 100 years of combined experience in developing and applying cutting-edge technology to the processing of fats and oils into biofuels. At this time we would like to entertain offer to take over this project.