10-16-01: Ethanol Plant May Be Built In Crookston

Sept. 4 - Crookston could be the site of a new a 40-million dollar ethanol plant. A new study picks it as the best place to build an ethanol plant in northwestern Minnesota. Backers of the new plant-- need to secure the funding to build it.

A study by the agricultural research institute says-- the best site in northwestern Minnesota for an ethanol plant-- is near the American Crystal Sugar Beet Plant at Crookston. Keith Sannes: "There are a number of things that could be of mutual benefit. You can save some on various infrastructure." For instance- the ethanol plant could use the steam heat generated by the beet plant. It would produce 15-million gallons of ethanol a year from wheat and barley-- the byproduct could be used feed a massive cattle feedlot. And it would bring much more than the 30 jobs needed just to operate the plant. Ed Wene: "There's also things like trucking for the byproduct- there's also services- electrical needs- welding-a lot of those extra services that go along with a plant that size." Now actually getting the plant in Crookston will take some political wrangling. Don Osborne: "What they're looking for from Crookston is basically support so that we can get funding through the legislature- what amounts to 3-million dollars for 10 years." Osborne is hoping to get a resolution of support for the plant from the city council here-- to pass on to the legislature. If the legislature approves the 30-million dollars of funding for the plant-- private investors would still need to kick in another 10-million dollars to make the plant a reality.

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