ethanol

Blue Flint Ethanol is continuing its efforts to find new fuel and power sources.

The plant is co-located with Great River Energy’s Coal Creek power plant, near Underwood. Coal Creek is scheduled to close in 2022. Blue Flint uses waste steam from Coal Creek as the energy for the refining process.

Blue Flint is owned by Midwest AgEnergy. It was recently awarded $155,000 from the state’s Agricultural Products Utilization Commission, to conduct research and a feasibility study to use biomass as its fuel source.

The North Dakota Industrial Commission has approved a new Bank of North Dakota loan program for ethanol plants, who have been hit hard by the drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The “Ethanol Recovery Program” will provide loans to ethanol plants at one percent interest rates. The loans would be administered through local banks, and the loans would be backed up by the Strategic Investments and Improvements Fund. It would be similar to the “PACE” fund, which is an interest rate buy-down program.

The federal EPA has announced a “rule-making” process to allow year round sales of E-15 – gasoline with a 15 percent ethanol blend – and to remove any barriers to the sale of that fuel.

In North Dakota, the Corn Utilization Council and the Ethanol Council have launched “Unleaded88” – an effort to promote the sale of E-15. The “88” stands for the octane rating for the fuel.

North Dakota's Agriculture Commissioner said the state's farming and ranching community has felt their fair share of challenges over the last six years.

Goehring said in a normal cycle, the market would likely start turning around. But he said that isn't happening now – because the market is still fraught with challenges.

"There's a trade war with China," Goehring said. "We're still dealing with high tariffs across the entire world, from many countries."

An ethanol producer with a plant at Richardton will be working with the Energy and Environmental Research Center on a carbon capture project.

The Industrial Commission has awarded the project $490,000. That's half the projected $980,000 cost.

"When you make ethanol, it comes with a "CI" value, a carbon-intensity value," said Dustin Willett, the chief operating officer of Red Trail Energy. "The lower the "CI" value, the better it is for the earth, as well as from a marketing standpoint."

The CO@ comes from the ethanol fermenters at the plant.