BETTING ON BIO:

Iowans eager to invest big bucks in biodiesel (JERRY PERKINS, January 14, 2006, Des Moines Register)

Iowa farmers, small-business owners and retirees anted up more than $7 million in two days to build a biodiesel plant here, eager to make a bet on what's billed as the future of the state's rural economy.

Organizers raised more than a third of the $17.6 million to $25 million needed from investors at meetings in Newton, Pella and Grinnell. Investors had to plunk down a minimum of $25,000. Some wrote checks on the spot for at least 10 percent of their investment, with the balance due later.

Investments in biodiesel and ethanol plants have often been limited to farmers or high rollers. But urban and rural investors alike have started lining up to own a piece of the booming renewable energy industry in Iowa, thanks to $1-a-gallon government subsidy and the soaring price of oil and diesel fuel.