On top of our news that an oil refinery might open just up the river, here's a deal to house 30,000 cattle in a "closed-loop" confinement. And it is supposed to help cattlemen and the environment.  I feel like we are being overrun.      Jim


Dakota County getting 'closed loop' ethanol plant
1:00 AM
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer
No comments posted. | Share    | Small | Large
Prime BioSolutions of Omaha said Thursday that it plans to begin construction late this year in Dakota County of an $85 million "closed loop" ethanol plant that will run without using fossil-fuel energy.
The company said it also has secured options and initiated permitting on several other sites in Nebraska and South Dakota. It took the opportunity to announce as well that former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle has joined Prime as chairman of the board and that former ibp/Tyson Fresh Meats executive Gene Leman is an adviser to the company.
Dakota County is first
The Dakota County facility will be the company's first plant, and it is currently working through engineering and testing, company spokesman Daniel Kenney said. He said construction would not begin until the crops on the selected land are harvested this fall. Construction would employ about 200 people and take about 15 months.
Prime BioSolutions co-owns the patent for the process technology with E3 BioFuels, E3 said. E3 is launching its first plant on Thursday, in Mead, Neb.
The "closed loop" technology consists of feeding cattle in an enclosed facility and continually washing the manure into sealed anaerobic digesters, which cook it to produce methane gas that then powers an ethanol plant. The wet distillers grain remaining from the ethanol production can be fed to the cattle, completing the loop.
Prime's plant will consist of up to 30,000 head of cattle and will make about 23 million gallons of ethanol a year, half or a quarter of what typical ethanol plants in the area produce. The nearly odorless process also produces a high-quality fertilizer.
Dan McNamara, economic development director for South Sioux City and Dakota County, said the project will need just 400 acres, but Prime has optioned 1,400 acres on a farm between Dakota City and Hubbard, Neb. The conditional use permit granted by the county for the project in February is being challenged in court by a neighboring couple.
Process said to help cattlemen
A company statement said its CEO and founder, Dave Hallberg, invented the patented method technology, which it will lease to the additional facilities. Hallberg touted the process as a way to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases linked to climate change.
Leman said in the statement that the closed-loop technology "is emerging at a very important time for the nation's cattle feeders. It offers visionary cattlemen the opportunity to cost effectively move cattle feeding back to states like Nebraska and South Dakota by taking advantage of the state-of-the-art weather protected facilities."
Leman said the model "has potential to set a new standard for `natural' beef programs that are profitable, sustainable and environmentally sound."
Daschle touted the technology as an answer to calls to increase biofuels production and decrease the "carbon footprint." He added that Prime's ultralow-carbon fuels "are expected to qualify for up to four times as many credits as conventional ethanol because they reduce the creation of all three major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides."
The location of Prime's first plant in Dakota County is a testament to tenacity. An unruly crowd at a public hearing on a zoning change to accommodate a location near Homer, Neb., last November caused Hallberg to step to the microphone and quietly withdraw his request for the change.
McNamara pursued the company immediately and a week later had a lead on the second site. He said at the time that he received calls from several farmers who thought the project would work on their land.
Following Thursday's announcement, he said he had already received calls from other industries expressing interest in possibly supplying some of Prime's needs.
The Siouxland Initiative first brought Prime BioSolutions to the county's attention.

________________________________________
From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Neila Seaman [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2007 1:20 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: DNR hosting issue meetings on illegal dumping

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see:
 http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp