Minnesota Ethanol Plant Resumes Production

An ethanol plant in Buffalo Lake, Minnesota has resumed production after being closed in 2010.  Formerly known as Minnesota Energy, the plant has been renamed Purified renewable Energy LLC. The new owners plan to begin introducing other feedstocks in addition to corn, such as agricultural waste. They also plan to diversify the plant's products to include isobutanol and other chemicals.  The plant in currently permitted to produce 25 million gallons per year, with expansion options up to 35 million gallons. Read more...

New Minnesota Wind Farm Under Construction

One of the biggest wind farms in Minnesota is expected to be online by the end of the year. Currently under construction near Harwick in the southern part of the state, the facility will feature 119 GE 1.68-megawatt turbines and generate approximately 200 megawatts of electricity. The project, with an estimated cost of $305 million, is a joint venture between GE and Enel Green Power, an Italian multinational energy corporation. Once completed, the wind farm will supply all of its power to Northern States Power Company, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, under a 20-year contract. Read more...

Minnesota Ethanol Plant Is Switching to Butanol

An Englewood, Colo. company named Gevo is converting an ethanol plant it purchased in Luverne, Minn. to make isobutanol, one of a number of new pathways to butanol, a chemical that can be used for fuel for many other purposes. Read more...

UM-Morris Green Power Update

According to an article this week in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the University of Minnesota at Morris is making significant progress towards its goal of being a carbon neutral campus. According to the article, the school has erected a wind turbine that provides about 60 percent of its electricity and has a second turbine on order. A biomass gasifier was built that turns corn cobs and prairie grass pellets into energy, enough to provide nearly half the campus' heating. Supplemental energy is provided by 32 solar panels installed around the school, which predicts it will be producing more power than it uses sometime this year.

http://www.startribune.com/local/115613614.html

New Minnesota Bio-Business Study Released

The BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota has released a study of the sector's role in the state's economy. The study found that employment in areas relating to agriculture and bio-industry (predominantly ethanol production)  has increased by more than 44 percent from 2002 to 2007.  The study recommended that the state seek a niche within the ethanol industry to sustain and improve employment prospects.

http://www.minnpost.com/bradallen/2011/02/08/25598/bio-business_a_growing_factor_in_state%e2%80%99s_employment_and_economy_study_finds

Transmssion Line Approved by Minnesota PUC

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission last week approved the final section of a 250-mile  transmission line  that would carry wind power from Brookings County, South Dakota to the Twin Cities. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission approved the 10.6-mile section in South Dakota last month.

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20110208/NEWS/102080331/1001/rss01

Minnesota Wind Farm Goes Online

The Bent Tree Wind Farm near Albert Lea, Minn.. has begun generating electricity, according to project developer Wisconsin Power & Light Co.  The $460 million project consists of 122 turbines capable of generating up to 201 megawatts of power. Wisconsin's renewable electricity mandate requires that 10% of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2015.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/115531459.html

3M Gets Solar Grant

The U.S. Department of Energy last week announced $20.1 million in grants under its SunShot program to companies working to reduce the costs of solar energy. The recipients included St. Paul-based 3M Co., which was awarded $4.4 million.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-04/u-s-awards-27-million-in-sunshot-program-to-reduce-cost-of-solar-energy.html

Minnesota Mulls Changes to Coal Law

The Minnesota House energy and natural resources committee on Tuesday approved on an 11-6 vote a bill presented by Rep. Michael Beard to modify recent changes in the state's air laws relating to coal-fired electricity. The bill would allow out-of-state electricity produced with coal to come into the state unrestricted and make it possible for new coal-fired plants to be built in Minnesota. The bill, and a similar one in the Senate, must be considered by other committees before reaching the House and Senate for votes.

The law has implcations for North Dakota's coal industry. Under the current law passed during the previous legislative session, Minnesota utilities would be required beginning in 2012 to assume costs of between $9 and $34 for each ton of carbon dioxide emitted by plants producing importing power, including those in North Dakota. Opponents of the law say this would place coal-generated power at a competitive disadvantage to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and would drive up the cost of electricity. The North Dakota attorney general's office has announced that it is considering a lawsuit against Minnesota over the coal laws, arguing that they violate interstate commerce laws.

http://www.swcbulletin.com/event/article/id/17470/

U of Minnesota Offers Renewable Energy Grants

The Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment, a signature program of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, is offering $4 million in funding for innovative projects that create the potential for technology breakthroughs in renewable energy while maximizing benefits to the environment. Proposals will be accepted until 11 p.m. CST March 29, 2011.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ione/iree/

Minnesota Moves Closer to Nuclear

The Minnesota Senate today voted 50-14 to lift a ban on new nuclear power plant permits. The bill now goes to the Republican-controlled house where supporters believe there are enough votes for approval. The bill reportedly has the support of labor and business interests who see it as a source of both new jobs and reliable power.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-02/minn-senate-takes-step-toward-new-nuclear-power.html

Pipeline Fight in Fairmont

Minnesota's Buffalo Lake Energy wants to build a 20-mile pipeline to carry treated water from its ethanol plant near Fairmont to the Blue Earth River for disposal. Environmental groups are opposing the plan, even though company officials at the southwest Minnesota site claim their proposal meets all state standards.

http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x376909854/Pipeline-plan-spurs-water-warfare

Minnesota RES Update

A January report by the Minnesota Department of  Commerce shows that Minnesota’s utilities appear to making satisfactory progress toward meeting the state’s Renewable Energy Standard mandate that requires 25 percent of the state's total electrical output to come from renewable sources by the year 2025. Read more...

Granite Falls Considers Increased CAPX Investment

In Minnesota, the Granite Falls City Council is mulling an increase in its investment in the CAPX2020 project from approximately $415,000 to $1.3 million. The city's interest is in the 250-mile Brookings County-to-Hampton segment that runs from Brookings, SD to Hampton, MN and includes a link from Marshall, MN  to Granite Falls. Construction is expected to begin in 2012 and be completed by 2015 at an estimated cost of $827 million. The cost of the entire CAPX project is estimated at $1.95 billion.

Xcel Reports Earnings

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. today reported 2010 GAAP earnings of $756 million, or $1.62 per share compared with 2009 GAAP earnings of $681 million, or $1.48 per share. In its comments on the report, the company highlighted key events of 2010 including the acquisition of two natural gas power plants in Colorado, the commercial launch of the Comanche Unit 3 and Nobles wind farms and the beginning of construction on the CapX2020 transmission project.

Minnesota Solar Plant on Schedule

The construction of a solar panel manufacturing facility in northern Minnesota is on schedule, according to a recent report. Kraus-Anderson Construction Company of Bemidji, Minn. is building the 25,000-square-foot plant for Mountain Iron Economic Development Authority in Mountain Iron, Minn. Silicon Energy MN will manufacture the solar panels. Construction of the $3.6 million project  is scheduled to be completed by March 2011, with production to begin by summer. Read more...

Minnesota Moves to #4 in Wind

New figures provided by the American Wind Energy Association show that Minnesota is now the nation's number four producer of wind energy. The state's Elm Creek II, Nobles and Ridgewind projects together accounted for 275 MW of installed capacity in 2010, or about 5% of the total growth in the U.S. Read more...

Minnesota Biofuels Producers Get USDA Grants

A total of approximately $750 million in grants has been awarded to several Minnesota biofuels producers from the Agriculture Department's Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels. Minnesota Soybean Processors was awarded nearly $400,000,  while Cargill Inc. received nearly $190,000 and Corn Plus LLP nearly $130,000.  Other recipients included FUMPA Biofuels, Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co., West River Dairy and Riverview LLP. Read more...

New Wind Farm Approved for Minnesota

The largest wind farm to date in Minnesota has been approved for construction in Mower County in the southeastern part of the state. Last week, the county board approved three substations and two transmission lines for the 300 MW facility to be called the Pleasant Valley Wind Farm Project. The wind farm will consist of between 130 and 200 turbines and will cover approximately 70,000 acres. The developer is Colorado-based Renewable Energy Systems Americas. Read more...

Minnesota Wind Farm Goes Online

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy has announced the activation of its Nobles Wind Farm in southwestern Minnesota.  The 201-megawatt wind farm in Nobles County consists of 134 turbines. Xcel Energy also owns the Grand Meadow Wind Farm in southeastern Minnesota and is working on a third facility in North Dakota that is expected to go online in late 2011. Read more...