USDA awards $25M loan to Red Trail Energy for CCS project
September 9, 2021
BY Erin Krueger
The USDA on Sept. 9 awarded a $25 million loan under the Rural Energy for America Program to Red Trail Energy LLC to support the construction of a carbon capture processing and storage facility at the company’s ethanol plant in North Dakota.
The 65 MMgy ethanol plant, located near Richardton, North Dakota, has been pursuing the development of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project for several years. The company in February 2021 submitted a North Dakota Carbon Dioxide Storage facility permit application to the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources. If approved, the permit will allow Red Trail Energy to permanently store carbon dioxide captured at the ethanol plant in deep underground rock layers.
According to the USDA, the CCS project is expected to reduce the carbon intensity (CI) score of ethanol produced at the Red Trail Energy plant up 40 to 50 percent and enable the company to sell its fuel into low-carbon fuel standard markets.
The $25 million loan awarded as part of a $464 million investment in rural energy infrastructure announced by the USDA. The agency is financing $129 million of those investments through REAP and $335 million through the Electric Loan Program.
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A full list of awards is available on the USDA website.
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