Minnesota Energy will shut down ethanol plant
In Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, the smallest ethanol plant in the state is closing down and leaving 20 people without jobs.
Although the decision to close was tough, the Minnesota Energy ethanol plant, which opened in 1997, had been losing money over the previous months and, according to chairman of the board for the farmer-owned ethanol plant and grain handling cooperative, its near-tern financial prospects continued to look negative.
However the plant, which produces 19 million gallons of ethanol every year, will reopen if the market conditions improve and prices increase by $0.50 (€0.37) to $0.75 per gallon.
Mayor Joyce Nyhus believes that selling the plant will result in it being used for other types of production. Various ideas are on the table at the moment, one of which involves converting some of the county’s sugar beet into rum.
As part of an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the well, which was developed by Minnesota Energy during expansion plans, has been sold. It will provide the community with high quality, arsenic-free water and later on this month the city will be accepting bids for the development of a seven-mile pipeline that will feed the new well.
Although the decision to close was tough, the Minnesota Energy ethanol plant, which opened in 1997, had been losing money over the previous months and, according to chairman of the board for the farmer-owned ethanol plant and grain handling cooperative, its near-tern financial prospects continued to look negative.
However the plant, which produces 19 million gallons of ethanol every year, will reopen if the market conditions improve and prices increase by $0.50 (€0.37) to $0.75 per gallon.
Mayor Joyce Nyhus believes that selling the plant will result in it being used for other types of production. Various ideas are on the table at the moment, one of which involves converting some of the county’s sugar beet into rum.
As part of an agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the well, which was developed by Minnesota Energy during expansion plans, has been sold. It will provide the community with high quality, arsenic-free water and later on this month the city will be accepting bids for the development of a seven-mile pipeline that will feed the new well.
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