Cellulosic success in Denmark provides example for N.D. farmers

PHOTO: GREAT PLAINS INSTITUTE

March 22, 2011

BY Kris Bevill

A proposed cellulosic ethanol project in North Dakota was the motivation for a recent fact-finding mission conducted by legislators, state officials and local producers to Denmark, where they evaluated how farmers there are able to supply crop residues to a demonstration-scale facility.

The group toured Inbicon’s 1.4 MMgy wheat straw-to-ethanol facility at Kalundborg, Denmark, local farms, a biogas plant and one of the world’s most efficient power plants in order to learn more about the country’s cropping systems and energy technologies, and evaluate how those efforts could be applied to North Dakota’s agricultural practices. Minnesota-based Great River Energy, which is working to establish a hybrid corn-cellulosic ethanol facility near Jamestown, N.D., assisted in organizing the tour and provided a project update to the North Dakota group. The delegation was led by N.D.  agriculture commissioner Doug Goehring and included state’s attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, state legislators and producers from the Jamestown area.

Goehring spearheaded the trip and said the visit was mainly meant to be an educational experience for state agriculture producers who, like producers across the U.S., have many questions regarding the impact of crop residue harvest on soil quality. “Our job was to go over there and learn what we could, and see what was applicable to North Dakota agriculture production,” he said. “Concerning this technology, it was an opportunity to get exposed to it and understand how it works.”

Advertisement

Producers were pleased to see first-hand that Denmark farmers have been able to harvest wheat straw for years with little impact on the soil. “In the past 25 years, they have been collecting residue on a continual basis for its use in electrical generation and they have had very minimal impact,” he said. There are notable differences between the climate and cropping practices in Denmark and North Dakota, but those differences could be used to cellulosic ethanol’s advantage. Goehring noted that North Dakota’s warmer climate allows for a more diverse range of feedstocks than is possible in Denmark. Aside from winter wheat, which is the common denominator between the two areas, North Dakota is able to grow corn, durum and spring wheat, all of which have crop residues that could be utilized at an ethanol facility.

In fact, Great River Energy anticipates utilizing both corn stover and wheat straw at the proposed Dakota Spirit AgEnergy LLC plant. The company initially focused on wheat straw, but Sandra Broekema, business development manager, said corn stover was added in order to mitigate risk. “The risk of a single feedstock where there isn’t an established market is just too much,” she said, adding that an additional feedstock offers a second harvest window and some protection against weather and other crop-related risks.

Advertisement

Goehring is confident that cellulosic ethanol has potential in North Dakota, but stressed that the success of a cellulosic ethanol plant relies on the producers supplying the feedstock. And farmers aren’t necessarily swayed by the temptation of a modest increase in their income in exchange for more investment and work on their part. “The key to this is producers, production agriculture,” he said. “Their job is to produce food, fiber and feed. If you’re asking a farmer to go out and collect several thousand dollars worth of straw and he’s got a $50,000 crop in the field, where do you think his priorities are going to be? He’s not going to shut down the combine to go bale up straw. The straw is a byproduct and it’s an afterthought. You’re going to have to make it as easy as possible for him if he’s going to participate.”

Great River Energy has conducted several roundtable discussions with agriculture producers in the vicinity of the proposed plant and is forming an advisory group to discuss the logistics of supplying feedstock to the facility.  “We recognize that this is an educational, awareness-building activity that will be ongoing because people have a lot of questions,” Broekema said. “It’s just part of the overall project development.”

Goehring is particularly enthusiastic about Great River Energy’s plan to make the facility a hybrid traditional-cellulosic plant, producing 50 MMgy of first-generation corn ethanol and 8 MMgy of cellulosic ethanol. That strategy keeps ethanol produced at the facility in high demand due to renewable fuel standard mandates, but reduces the amount of crop residues needed to fuel the plant, he said. Approximately 192,000 tons of biomass would be required annually to produce 8 MMgy of cellulosic ethanol at the plant using Inbicon’s front-end cellulosic technology. Inbicon is a member of the steering committee as part of the overall development team, according to Broekema. The company will also serve as the technology provider for the facility.

Broekema said Great River Energy, the second largest electric power supplier in Minnesota, is currently raising capital to finance the North Dakota project. The proposed ethanol plant will be co-located with a combined heat and power facility that is also supplying steam to an adjacent malting plant. Broekema said it is possible a groundbreaking could be held for the ethanol facility as early as late this year or by early 2012.

Upcoming Events

Sign up for our e-newsletter!

Advertisement

Advertisement