News & Current Projects

Progress, Patience
Sargeant says ethanol initiative is still on track

Crookston Daily Times
By Mike Christopherson, Managing Editor

February 2, 2006 - While acknowledging frustrations with the bureaucratic process and related red tape, one of the leaders of the effort to construct an ethanol plant near Erskine said this week that the hope is to start construction on the facility in the fall.

That doesn't mean it's going to happen that soon. Don Sargeant, consultant and chair of Agassiz Energy LLC, cautioned at Tuesday evening's annual meeting of the Crookston Development Authority at the Northland Inn.

"But that's the target," he added.

Sargeant spoke to the CDA board because the CDA has $20,000 invested in the project, which was originally envisioned for Crookston but moved 35 miles east when it became apparent that receiving a coal burning permit would be tough in Crookston, where UMC and American Crystal Sugar already burn coal. Locating the plan in Erskine qualified it for the New Market Tax Credit and also puts it at the junction of two railroads, Sargeant said, which is a big plus. Until more corn is grown on land near the plant, he said much will have to be brought in via the railroad.

"We don't grow a lot of corn in this region right now, but we have the capacity to do so," Sargeant said.

The coal, too, would arrive on trains.

Despite the fact the plant won't be built in Crookston, CDA board members endorsed the CDA's investment in the initiative, citing its impact on the region's economy.

"There have been some questions about why the CDA put money in a regional project," Dave Genereux said. "My answer is that we don't live in our own little box."

"There's a huge economic impact beyond the plant itself," Sargeant added.

Updates
The Agassiz Energy LLC board of directors was recently reduced in size, from 30 to nine members, Sargeant said. There's an advisory board, too. It's simply easier to operate with a smaller board, he said.

The project's Environmental Assessment Worksheet continues to be processed, and energy permits still need to be awarded by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. That's been the case for a while now, Sargeant acknowledged.

"Was it going to be three months, six months, nine months?" he said. "Well, we've been going down this path for 14 months now." But, Sargeant stressed, "We haven't found anything yet that's insurmountable."

Coal is the key because it's an energy source that Agassiz Energy LLC can afford, he said. "We're going to stick with it and make sure we use it in the safest, most effective manner possible," Sargeant explained.

He used his presentation to again thank CDA Executive Kari Thompson specifically and the CDA in general for its support. Thompson put in many in-kind hours to help secure approximately $500,000 in USDA and AURI matching grants that Sargeant said greatly reduced the amount of "risk capital" that had to be invested in the initiative.

Estimates have the plant costing approximately $95 million to construct. Plans are for it to initially employ about 35 full-time workers.