Sep 16 2005
Biofuel Solutions, an ethanol plant development company, is in the advanced planning stages for construction of a state-of-the-art 110 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant to be located in Fairmont, Minn. The company would have, pending appropriate approvals, an exclusive relationship with Cargill to provide certain services to the plant. The facility would be co-located adjacent to the local Cargill Ag Horizons grain elevator.
The plant would source corn from Cargill’s elevator, which has been in operation since 1973 (owned by Cargill since 1996) and which has historically shipped corn to the export market. It is expected that the plant would also work with local elevators to procure the 41 million bushels of corn to meet production requirements. In addition to producing ethanol, the plant is expected to produce more than 375,000 tons of dry distiller grain for animal feed annually.
Biofuel Solutions is currently evaluating the site and plans further investment in part based on the nearby railway and highway systems, including access to mainline rail, and strong community support. The City of Fairmont is working with Biofuel Solutions to confirm the proposed plant meets all required environmental ordinances, state and federal laws. All environmental permits required for construction have been filed and are pending approval from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Delta-T/TIC Alliance, which built the Corn Plus ethanol plant in nearby Winnebago, Minn., has been selected to build and provide technology for the facility. Biofuel Solutions expects to begin construction in the first quarter of 2006.
Beyond creating demand for up to 41 million bushels of corn, the plant is expected to create approximately 50 full-time jobs. Biofuel Solutions plans to hire locally. Project Manager JonAlan Page, a vice president with Biofuel Solutions, stated, “we have been impressed by the business friendly atmosphere that we have encountered thus far and expect to be able to build on this as we move forward in partnership with the local community to construct this facility.”