The vibrant city of Sioux Falls, S.D., in the center of one of the fastest growing ethanol producing regions in the nation, has been called "the perfect place" for this month's 19th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Trade Show (FEW). The historic city is home to the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) and headquarters of ethanol magnate Broin Companies and other ethanol industry service providers, making it a virtual hub of ethanol-related activity, leadership and success. The state itself, with its dedicated ethanol producers and committed political supporters - on a state level and in Washington D.C. - deserves high praise for establishing South Dakota as a true ethanol industry powerhouse.

High Consumer Acceptance of Ethanol
Complimentary to the state's ethanol plants and dedicated corn growers, high consumer acceptance of ethanol-blended gasoline and community support of new production facilities has fueled the growth of South Dakota's ethanol industry.

Although South Dakota does not mandate the sale of ethanol, nearly all gasoline retailers offer consumers the choice to purchase gasoline containing 10 percent ethanol-blended gas. In addition, a growing number of stations across the state also offer consumers E-85, specially designed flex fuel vehicles. Beyond gasoline outlets selling ethanol, South Dakota is achieving success with the planning and development of ethanol plants in various parts of the state.

In 1999, South Dakota produced 16 million gallons of ethanol. By 2004, South Dakota will be producing nearly 400 million gallons of ethanol annually.

The state's ethanol industry provides 400 direct jobs at plants in South Dakota while providing thousands of indirect jobs in rural areas of the state, helping to strengthen rural economies and raising corn prices. Because most ethanol plants are farmer-owned cooperatives, ethanol increases rural income because dividends and profits stay in South Dakota. In fact, over 8,000 farm families have invested in ethanol production in the state.

Ethanol Plants in South Dakota
Currently, South Dakota has nine ethanol plants online, producing more than 255 million gallons a year, and two others under construction, representing another 140 million gallons a year.

The state's ethanol production facilities include Broin Enterprises, near the town of Scotland, which produces 8-mmgy from corn and reportedly serves as Broin Companies' research and testing lab.

Broin Management, a division of Broin Companies, also runs Dakota Ethanol, a 45-mmgy corn-to-ethanol dry mill near the town of Wentworth; Northern Lights Ethanol, just outside of Big Stone City, which produces 40-mmgy from corn; the 40-mmgy Great Plains Ethanol plant near the community of Chancellor; and its newest plant, James Valley Ethanol, west of Gorton, which is already on track to produce 45-mmgy, also from corn.

Glacial Lakes Energy, just outside of Watertown, produces 40-mmgy from corn and was built by Fagen, Inc., using an ICM, Inc. process design.

Heartland Grain Fuels operates ethanol plants near Aberdeen (8-mmgy) and near Huron (14-mmgy), while Tri-State Ethanol Company, near Rosholt, produces 15-mmgy.

Meanwhile, Fagen and ICM have teamed up again to build the mammoth-sized VeraSun Energy, a whopping 100-mmgy corn-to-ethanol dry mill near Aurora. Broin Companies also broke ground at the end of last month on Sioux River Ethanol, a 40-mmgy plant being built in Hudson.

South Dakota Production Incentives
Part of the reason ethanol producers have achieved a large degree of success in South Dakota can, of course, be attributed to the creation of the state's ethanol producer incentive fund, which sustains ethanol's development in the state. Currently, licensed ethanol producers may receive a production incentive payment (based on available funding) of 20 cents per gallon for ethyl alcohol that is fully distilled and produced in South Dakota. To be eligible for this payment, the ethyl alcohol must be 99 percent pure, derived from cereal grains, and denatured and subsequently blended with gasoline.

Annual production incentive payments for any facility may not exceed $1 million. No facility may receive any production incentive payments in an amount greater than $10 million dollars during the lifetime of the plant.

Corn Grower-led Industry
As everyone knows, farmers - corn growers specifically - have led the development of ethanol production in South Dakota. Likewise, the South Dakota Corn Growers Association (SDCGA), as well as the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council (SDCUC) have played no small part in bringing the industry to where it is today. The state's growers work continuously to promote corn and improve corn profitability through influencing public policy and legislative issues. While the concerns and programs of the SDCGA encompass a myriad of issues, the organization is dedicated to focusing attention and its resources on the areas the most vitally affect corn producers at the state and national levels, such as ethanol production.

One way that the SDCUC helps to educate consumers about the many uses of corn is by attending trade shows and state fairs. Other ways that the SDCUC tries to keep in contact with their consumers is by running television, radio, and newspaper ads explaining the advantages South Dakota has in developing value-added agriculture, and printing brochures that explain about corn related products and their new uses.

The SDCUC's goal is to work hard to develop new markets in South Dakota to utilize the corn commodity. The SDCUC has been instrumental in developing and encouraging producer-invested ethanol facilities and value-added funds used to help facilitate ethanol development in rural communities.

Ethanol in Aviation
Ethanol is starting to play a growing role in the aviation industry, and South Dakota researchers and pilots are on the leading edge of it. South Dakota State University and Great Plains Fuel Development, of Brookings, and ACE have been instrumental in leading this effort, along with UND Aerospace (University of North Dakota), the North Dakota Corn Growers Association, and UND's Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC).

There are a variety of experimental and certified aircrafts that are flying on ethanol-blended fuel. Aviation-grade E-85 has been certified in a couple of aviation engines and airframes. The Vanguard Squadron has performed at numerous air shows and events flying on ethanol. It actually takes very little to convert an airplane engine to run on aviation-grade E-85, supporters say.

The conversion, which essentially turns the aircraft into a flex-fuel plane, gives it the ability to run on either aviation-grade E-85 or 100 LL avgas. Ethanol makes a great aviation fuel because it is low in vapor-pressure and high in octane.

ACE and the University of North Dakota, which has one of the largest aviation flight training schools in the United States, hosted an Ethanol-in-Aviation Conference last May at the University of North Dakota.

American Coalition for Ethanol
Hardly enough can be said to about the good work ACE is doing for ethanol development in South Dakota and throughout the Midwest. Many South Dakota ethanol producers, industry suppliers and service providers are members of ACE and support the mission of the organization.

ACE is a non-profit membership association devoted to promoting the increased production and use of ethanol. The "grass-roots" organization has helped bring South Dakota to the forefront of the national ethanol production scene with ethanol-related seminars around the Midwest and, just recently, in California. Each summer, ACE holds its growingly popular Midwest conference and trade show. This year's event will be held in. . . you guessed it, Sioux Falls. We told you this city was a perfect place for a meeting.

Broin Companies Headquarters
Also headquartered in Sioux Falls is the Broin Companies, one of the nation's leading ethanol plant builders, technology and service providers.

Under the leadership of CEO Jeff Broin, the corporation has a vision to "set the standards" for the ethanol industry. Its companies - Broin & Associates, Ethanol Products, Dakota Gold and Broin Management - provide turn-key design, engineering, construction, management, and marketing services for its capital partners.

Since 1991, Broin & Associates, Inc. has established itself as a leading provider of comprehensive, turn-key dry mill ethanol plant engineering and construction packages. Broin Management, LLC provides complete management services for ethanol plants designed and constructed by Broin & Associates, Inc. Ethanol Products marketer Bob Scott (also the President of ACE) focuses on providing knowledgeable service, while maximizing a facility's return on every gallon of ethanol produced. Dakota Commodities is the exclusive marketer of Dakota Gold® premium brand Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles. Produced exclusively at Broin Companies' ethanol facilities, Dakota Gold® is a certified all-corn DDGS.

BBI International and Ethanol Producer Magazine hope each of the 1,100 people expected to attend this year's FEW get the most out of their stay in Sioux Falls and become better acquainted with the companies and organizations that call South Dakota home. It's a wonderful city in a beautiful state. Enjoy. EP