Great River Energy recently purchased a 51 percent share of Blue Flint Ethanol in Underwood, North Dakota, a plant that refines yellow corn into biofuel. Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc., which provides energy to rural Cook County, is a member of Great River Energy. The company previously owned 49 percent of Blue Flint Ethanol.
The Blue Flint Ethanol biorefinery produces two types of fuel, ethanol and biodiesel, as well as a high-protein animal feed supplement for livestock and poultry made out of byproducts from the operation.
Blue Flint Ethanol has been operating profitably since it began operation in 2007. A key to the plant’s success is its location next to a coal-fired power plant, Coal Creek Station, using its steam for power and heat. Great River Energy was the first utility in the country to locate an agricultural refinery next to a coal-fired power station, allowing it to avoid the cost of building and operating a separate boiler. Because of this, it is “one of the most cost-effective, energyefficient and environmentally friendly ethanol plants in the country,” according the January 2012 edition of the trade magazine Great River News.
“The corn is delivered to the plant by rail and truck from producers in North Dakota, western Minnesota, and northern South Dakota,” Therese LaCanne, manager of corporate communications for Great River Energy, told the Cook County News-Herald. Deliveries come from a 100-square-mile area around the refinery.
“Most of the ethanol produced at Blue Flint is shipped by truck or rail to markets where it is blended with gasoline to produce a highoctane, clean-burning fuel that can be used in all vehicles,” LaCanne said. “The ethanol is also used to produce E85, a finished motor fuel, which is up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
“Blue Flint Ethanol’s corn oil extraction process separates one million gallons per year of corn oil for biodiesel production,” LaCanne continued. “Corn oil extraction allows Blue Flint Ethanol to obtain more fuel from a bushel of corn, increasing the amount of renewable energy produced at the plant.” Food-grade corn oil is not produced at Blue Flint. The animal feed supplement produced at the refinery is called “distillers grains” and it comes in both a dry and wet form.
When asked about the challenges of locating a biorefinery next to a coal-fired power station, LaCanne said, “The biggest challenge was matching the ethanol facility’s energy and services needs with the energy and services capabilities of the power plant in order to optimize locating the facilities next to each other and minimize any unwanted impacts to either facility. We worked hard to determine the best location for the ethanol plant in relation to the power plant, rail lines, and roads.”
Coal Creek Station began producing power in 1979, with a second unit coming online the next year. The State of Minnesota Public Utilities Commission recently required Minnesota Power to conduct a Baseload Diversification Study on two of its power plants— one being the Taconite Harbor Energy Center in Schroeder—including the ramifications of closing the plants down. LaCanne said she was not aware of the State of North Dakota putting any pressure on utility cooperatives to shut down their coal-fired plants.
“Great River Energy plans to continue to use coal to generate electricity at Coal Creek Station,” LaCanne said. “We have a contract with the adjacent Falkirk Mine to provide coal to the power plant through 2045.
“…As an aside, North Dakota’s economy is booming,” LaCanne added. “More electricity is needed to supply a quickly growing demand, especially in the oilfields. This electricity would be supplied by other companies that serve the area—not Great River Energy.”
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