The 52-year-old Yocum Oil Company embarked on the reclamation project of a 50-acre site just east of Flint Hills Resources this year and expects to have Rosemount Clean Energies significantly operational in less than three months, according to Tim Yocum, one of the company’s principals and chief manager.

With about a half-million barrels worth of storage capacity in several large tanks that have been idle for some time, Rosemount Clean Energies’ project is requiring long hours, technical expertise and patience for the five-year total build-out.

When it is complete, the refinery that will focus on biofuel injection blending and other clean energy products will be the only one of its kind and scale in the Upper Midwest, according to the company.

“Biofuels are here to stay,” said Yocum, who is president of the Minnesota Petroleum Marketers Association. “Canada just announced a 2 percent biodiesel requirement. Minnesota is going to 10 percent next spring. This new terminal will allow greater distribution of biofuels right where crops are grown and biofuels are produced. Combine this with our refineries’ ability to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel from North Dakota and Canadian crude, and we have opened a huge channel for energy independence through local supply.”

The components in some of the fuels the company will supply include corn and switchgrass.

While the project intends to offer “green” energy, the work itself is “green.” Yocum said without a company like this coming in to reuse the existing tanks and infrastructure, the site might have needed significant remediation work to clean up contaminated areas.

As a result of the sale, Yocum Oil and the previous owner are remediating any problem areas with direction from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

The green-built, non-waste generating terminal site has the flexibility to receive and ship products in various ways – including rail cars, trucks, tanks and pipeline.

Yocum said the company also will offer an efficient mechanism to test biodiesel in the marketplace – something he said the local market previously lacked.

A Yocum Oil spinoff, Command Labs, is where the testing technical expertise enters. Command Labs specializes in analyzing fuels and finding solutions to fuel problems encountered throughout the industry.

“Initially, the industry struggled with the rollout of biodiesel,” Yocum said. “The ability of this terminal to customize products through injection blending ensures greater accuracy and a consistent product that takes the reliability question of fuel out of the equation.”

Rosemount Clean Energies also aims to provide transloading, storage and distribution of ethanol, waste oil recycling, asphalt, No. 6 oil, propane, diesel exhaust fluid, compressed natural gas, and liquefied natural gas.

“We are tremendously excited about the opportunity we have,” Yocum said. “It is supported by the strong number of calls we are receiving from people out of state.”

The company has already hired workers for the reclamation project, but it also plans to expand its sales staff and make additional hires for Command Labs.

“We’ll continue to collaborate with producers, end-users, government agencies and environmental groups to actualize the idea that biofuels are a viable, sustainable supplement to petroleum fuels,” Yocum said. “We’ll also work closely with our partners to test newer clean energy products that enter the marketplace.  We aim to be leaders in clean energy, always looking ahead to what can most responsibly and efficiently move our market forward.”