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100 Mgy corn ethanol project in North Dakota on hold over feedstock prices, water

July 15, 2008

In North Dakota, the Newman Group announced that a 100 Mgy corn ethanol project at Spiritwood was placed on hold due to high feedstock prices and water availability. Company executives said that the plant would not be profitable at corn prices of $7 per bushel, and that the Spiritwood-area aquifer did not have enough water to provide for both a recently expanded Cargill malt plant in the area and the Spiritwood ethanol facility.

Spiritwood background

Last November, Great River Energy, Cargill and Newman Group broke ground on the $500 million Spiritwood Station complex that includes the 100 Mgy ethanol plant. The complex will also feature a coal-based power plant that will produce electricity for the Great River member co-ops in Minnesota, as well as steam for a Cargill malt processor and the ethanol plant.

Spiritwood Ethanol plant had reduced its projected freshwater needs from the Spiritwood aquifer, in planning last year, to 140,000 gallons per day. The remainder would come primarily from wastewater recovered from a nearby Cargill malt plant, which uses 4 million gallons per day from the acquifer.

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    Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Producer News 

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