Co-op
Pitches in With Financing for Ethanol Plant: Minnesota co-op has tapped
into a popular federal loan program to help boost the local economy and the
growing market for alternative energy sources.Success Stories for Minnesota
Co-op
Pitches in With Financing for Ethanol Plant: Minnesota co-op has tapped
into a popular federal loan program to help boost the local economy and the
growing market for alternative energy sources.
Federated Rural Electric Association (Federated) (MN-037), Jackson, Minnesota, will use a $740,000 loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help finance construction of a new 50-million gallon ethanol plant.
The plant will add about 70 jobs to the local economy and help meet a state requirement - the most stringent in the nation-that all gasoline supplies in Minnesota eventually include a 20 percent ethanol blend.
The money comes from USDA's Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants program, which helps co ops underwrite community development and job creation projects through zero-interest loans.
"Thanks to USDA Rural Development and the Federated Rural Electric Association, Jackson County will continue to prosper," said Rep. Gil Gutknecht, D-Minnesota., who represents the area in Congress. "The real winners here are the local citizens who benefit from the economic development this project provides."
The $104 million project is being built by Heron Lake BioEnergy in Jackson County in the southwestern part of the state. After an extensive series of hearings, the project passed regulatory muster, and workers broke ground last November.
When completed in spring 2007, the plant will be a boon to local grain producers - it will require 19 million bushels of corn annually to help generate 50 millions gallons of ethanol per year.
It also will produce 160,000 tons of distiller grains annually as a by-product to be sold to livestock producers for use as a nutritional supplement.
Andrea Christoffer, marketing and communications manager for Federated, said the co-op was delighted to be able to help with financing of the project.
She noted the plant, designed and constructed by Fagen Inc. of Granite Falls, Minn., is a bit unusual because it relies on coal for fuel, instead of more expensive natural gas.
A plant near Goldfield, Iowa, was the first in the nation to use coal power to help produce ethanol, and the Minnesota plant is similar to that facility.
Heron Lake BioEnergy officials estimate the energy savings from using coal will amount to several million dollars annually.
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", March 31, 2006, edition, Volume 12, Number 13, 2006.
April 2006
Construction Underway on North Dakota Ethanol Plant - (Management team named to direct operations at 50 million gallon-a-year facility.) A state-of-the-art ethanol plant that eventually will produce 50 million gallons of ethanol annually is under construction in North Dakota.
Great River Energy (MN-110), a G&T located in Elk River, Minnesota, and Headwaters Inc. of South Jordan, Utah, held a groundbreaking ceremony March 17, 2006, on the $85 million facility near Underwood.
The Blue Flint Ethanol plant, which could begin operations in early 2007, will rely on waste steam from Great River Energy's nearby Coal Creek Station as energy to keep electricity costs low and reduce emissions. Officials said the steam will eliminate the need for a separate boiler and control construction costs.
"Our strong incentives for biodiesel and value-added agriculture and aggressive marketing of the state's energy potential are getting results, and we are working on more new projects," North Dakota Govenor John Hoeven said at the ceremony.
The plant, which derives its name from blue flint corn grown by Native Americans who once lived in the area, will require 18 million bushels of corn per year, much of it from area farms.
The plant also will produce enough dried or wet distillers grain to feed 225,000 cattle annually.
Officials estimated that construction will add 300 jobs to the local rolls and 37 full-time positions upon completion. The economic impact of the plant is expected to be about $160 million annually.
The companies also announced that John Baird of Headwaters Energy Services Corp. and John Weeda of Great River Energy will serve as a two-person executive committee that will govern activities for the joint venture.
Baird currently is vice president of liquid fuels for Headwaters Energy Services. Weeda is plant manager for Great River Energy at Coal Creek Station.
Headwaters Inc. also announced that Jeff Zueger has been named general manager of Blue Flint Ethanol.
Compliments of NRECA's "Electric Co-op TODAY", March 24, 2006, edition, Volume 12, Number 12.
April 2006