title: Renewable Energy Group
text: # Renewable Energy Group
  
  Renewable Energy Group is a biodiesel production company headquartered in Ames, Iowa. The company operates 12 biorefineries and a feedstock processing facility. As of 2018, the company is a Fortune 1000 corporation.
  
  ## History
  
  Renewable Energy Group began in 1996 as the biodiesel division of West Central Cooperative with the construction of a plant in Ralston, Iowa. In 2006, the company separated from West Central and moved its headquarters to Ames.
  
  In 2013, the company acquired Tulsa-based biofuels company Syntroleum Corporation amid that company's struggles for profitability. In 2015 it acquired the assets of Grays Harbor, Washington-based biodiesel company Imperium Renewables.
  
  On February 28, 2022, the company announced they would be acquired by the California-based oil company Chevron Corporation. On June 13, the acquisition was completed.
  
  ### Leadership
  
  Upon separation from West Central, the initial CEO of the company was Jeff Stroburg, succeeded in 2011 by Daniel Oh. After Oh's abrupt and unexpected resignation in 2017, Reginald Howard became interim CEO, and was replaced in 2018 by Cynthia Warner.
  
  ## Plant explosions
  
  In June 2001, the predecessor company's InterWest facility in Ralston exploded, leaving one man in critical condition.
  
  The company's biofuels production facility in Geismar, Louisiana suffered from explosions in April and September 2015. As a result of this explosion, Renewable Energy Group was cited with three "willful" safety violations and was fined $70,000 by OSHA.
  
  