Posted Dec. 14, 2010

North Dakota could potentially boost its ethanol production by 240 MMgy by utilizing energy beets as a feedstock, said a group seeking to deploy its technology within the state. The state currently produces about 300 MMgy of ethanol from corn-based ethanol plants. BeetsAllBiofuel LLC, which is comprised of Fargo, N.D.-based Green Vision Group and Iowa-based Heartland Renewable Energy, recently released findings from test plots of energy beets grown in five locations throughout the state and unveiled plans to locate 12 20 MMgy energy beet-based ethanol facilities, beginning with a 3.5 MMgy demonstration plant that should be operational by Jan. 1, 2012.

Energy beets are a similar crop to sugar beets. However, rather than serving as a useful crop for sugar production, they have been modified specifically for renewable fuel production. Energy beets have been a feedstock of consideration for a handful of potential ethanol producers, most notably at locations in California as well as the eastern provinces of Canada. In North Dakota, sugar beets are a mainstay crop for farmers in the eastern portion of the state, primarily in the Red River Valley, but BeetsAllBiofuel opted not to conduct energy beet growing trials in that area. Instead the group focused its field trial activities on the central portion of the state where small grains are traditionally grown. Cole Gustafson, professor of agribusiness at North Dakota State University and director of the university's Bioenergy and Products Innovation Center, said this was due in part to collaboration with the USDA's Rural Economic Development agency but was also a strategic development plan. "We've been focusing on smaller sized plants that can be dropped in to communities that may be looking for economic opportunities," he said. "There's been wonderful economic growth in the eastern part of the state [due in part to ethanol production] and in the western part of the state [driven by booming oil production activities] but many of the middle areas are looking for new growth. This might be one of the ways that they can prosper."

Approximately 30,000 acres of energy beets located within a 20-mile radius of the ethanol plant would be required to supply a 20 MMgy plant, Gustafson said, which would then produce 26.4 gallons of ethanol per ton of energy beets. Growers would likely plant energy beets on a four-year crop rotation, which would increase the ethanol plant's overall farm acreage requirements to 120,000 acres. Yield trials conducted this year indicate that North Dakota could support the acreage requirements for all 12 20 MMgy plants and that farmers would be willing to add energy beets to their crop rotations. Small grains growers in the central portion of the state would need to invest in new equipment to plant and harvest the crop, but Gustafson said focus groups have indicated that the profitability potential would inspire them to add new equipment. BeetsAllBiofuel has determined that the growers return on investment would be approximately $42 per ton of crop.

Heartland Renewable Energy has developed a processing technology for energy beets that includes a patented step to produce "energy powder" from the stillage. The powder can be used as a boiler fuel, with the ash being utilized as fertilizer for beet fields. The group predicts that energy powder can replace up to 70 percent of the thermal energy requirements of a 20 MMgy. Additionally, the front-end process includes a grinding process to break down the beets, as opposed to the slicing method used at sugar beet processing plants. This method will also serve to dispose of any small-sized rocks that may have become embedded in the beet during the growing process. A novel juice storage technology is currently being researched at NDSU, Gustafson said, which will enable the plants to operate in the spring and summer months.

"Our technology is ready to go commercial," he said. "That was our original plan, but given the difficult national economic times and capital markets, we've stepped back and are going through this demonstration phase just to provide more assurance to equity investors." The 3.5 MMgy demonstration facility will be co-located with an existing ethanol plant in the state, he said. Discussions are under way, but a deal has yet to be finalized. Approximately $5 million is required to cover the cost of installing the additional front-end equipment and possible back-end pieces to the existing plant. BeetAllBiofuels is currently seeking financial partners and is also working to acquire funding from the state of North Dakota. The Energy Beet Advisory Council, the Agricultural Products Utilization Commission and the North Dakota Renewable Energy Council have already supported the project through cash or in-kind contributions.

Gustafson said that while North Dakota has a history of supporting renewable energy and fuels projects, some changes will need to be made to its financing parameters before it can be useful to BeetsAllBiofuel. The estimated cost for one 20 MMgy plant, including operating costs, is $42 million and North Dakota's grants top off at less than $1 million. Therefore, the company will likely need to request an increase to the maximum grant amount in order for state funding to be of use to their project. Aside from financing, the largest hurdles yet to be overcome by the group are to classify energy beet-based ethanol as an advanced biofuel with the U.S. EPA and to complete a lifecycle analysis for the fuel. "We're hoping to do that in partnership with some of the other projects that are moving forward in Pennsylvania, California and other states," Gustafson said.

The company estimates that if all 12 commercial plants are located in North Dakota, 800 processing and on-farm jobs will be created and $380 million of additional farm production revenue will be generated annually. And while the initial plan continues to focus on North Dakota, the company is not ruling out options in other states. "We've had quite a bit of interest from other states, especially southern Minnesota," Gustafson said. "We're still in conversations with other states."

Energy beet ethanol could be next N.D. boom

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Energy beet ethanol could be next N.D. boom