In Minnesota, an article sheds light on the state of rail infrastructure used to move ethanol to national markets. The Minnesota Prairie Line can move ethanol at a maximum speed of 7 miles per hour and ethanol trains are restricted to 30 cars, which requires that they be sent to a staging point near Minneapolis to be joined with 82 other cars in a 112 car train that heads for California and other markets. The restrictions were put in place after a rail snapped last December. The line has applied for $50 million for improvements.
Ethanol trains carrying up to 2.5 million gallons currently transport fuel from the Midwest to eastern and West Coast fuel markets.
In Minnesota, SunOpta announced plans to build a 10 Mgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Little Falls. The company said it will joint venture with Central Minnesota Ethanol Co-op and will be built next to ...
In Pennsylvania, the state legislature is considering a bill to provide support for more rail infrastructure to move biofuels more effectively to consumers and fleets. Rail improvements are considered...
In Minnesota, SunOpta BioProcess agreed with Central Minnesota Ethanol Co-op in Little Falls, to cooperate on studies for a 10 Mgy cellulosic ethanol plant. SunOpta said the joint venture will constru...
In Nebraska, Seminole Energy said that they plan to construct a $150 million ethanol pipeline that would create a hub in central Nebraska where out-of-state rail lines intersect. The hub would store u...
In Ohio, the state Rail Development Commission has awarded a $50,000 grant to Liberty Fuels for improvements of its rail facilities. The improvements will give the biodiesel plant the ability to handl...
In Illinois, the principal of Transportation Consultants said that the construction of rail terminals that can handle large-scale ethanol shipments is critical to the growth of the ethanol industry. T...