Peoria Station

Portion of a dormant, almost-complete Viridis plant seen on January 18, 2026 A little update on Viridis Chemical's dormant, almost-complete Peoria ethyl acetate plant. The company on Sunday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas.  There are several reasons for the company's failure to start operations. Hopefully, reorganization is a phase prior to finding a new market and starting operations. The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Co. would serve the plant.    - David P. Jordan  

Viridis Chemical's ethyl acetate plant is viewed January 18, 2026 from the Cedar Street Bridge   Local media outlets aren't reporting this, but in December, Viridis Chemical Co. halted work on the nearly-finished Peoria ethyl acetate plant relocated from Columbus, Nebraska. The decision by investor EIV Capital was blamed on a deteriorating market for "biobased chemicals" and tariffs, which caused the project to go over budget.    The former seems to be the bigger problem as the distillation column subject to a 50 percent import tariff was purchased and installed. The suspension explains why a rail siding was not built, and construction activity was put on hold before Christmas.    This article does offer hope for the plant -    [market development lead Steve] Friedewald expects the facility will start up eventually, but it may be a couple of years before the Viridis team recruits new investors or secures funding to finish final build-out and com...

Driving eastbound on Interstate 74 just before the bridge, I just happened to see the SW-10 and a few flat cars, so I exited onto Riverfront Drive and on the Bob Michel Bridge back across the river. Grant Street had too much snow, so I opted to wait at Alexander Avenue while the crew spotted two or three empty flat cars into Komatsu and pulled two truck chassis loads.   After pulling across Alexander Avenue, the crew left the train on the main and ladder track in the North Limit Yard, used the pocket to runaround the train and then pulled back south across Alexander Avenue. My hands were hurting (despite wearing gloves), so I decided to warm them up instead of sticking around to shoot switching operations at PMP Fermentation Products.    This will be the train that switches Viridis Chemical between BioUrja Renewables LLC and the West Yard, if and when rail facilities are built.  CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad local pulls northbound across Alexander ...

Peoria is getting a new industry. Even better, a new rail user. In a press release dated November 25 , Viridis Chemical Co. confirms its plan to move an ethyl acetate plant from Columbus, Nebraska to Peoria.  The new Peoria site, situated on the Illinois River, offers key logistical advantages. In addition to the adjacency to BioUrja, the location includes access to all major rail lines and barge-navigable routes connecting to the Mississippi River. The site’s proximity to Viridis’ core ethyl acetate customers in the Midwest and Northeast, combined with its superior logistics and storage capabilities, will position Viridis for enhanced operational efficiency and customer service. Yesterday, the Peoria City Council approved Viridis' plan after it agreed to certain conditions. The  reason to move  was that that the existing plant had been supplied ethanol from BioUrja Renewables LLC's Peoria plant for two years, so it made sense to be closer to its supplier.  The new ...