Beet as a New Energy Crop
(The Bioenergy Site) For the past two years, North Dakota State University Biofuels Economist, Cole Gufstafson, has been working in partnership with Green Vision Group and Heartland Renewable Energy (HRE) to create an energy beet for the biofuel industry in North Dakota.
Last year, an economic feasibility study of the project was completed and funding for yield trials at the Carrington Research Extension Center was obtained.
“To move the project forward in 2010, I developed a $330,000 grant proposal that was submitted and recently approved by North Dakota’s Renewable Energy Council (REC),” said Mr Gufstafson.
“The grant proposal requested $165,000 directly from the REC, with the remaining funds coming from a variety of private supporters.”
Funds from the grant will be used to accomplish four tasks in the next phase of the project:
- Conduct a commercial test of HRE’s patented process of drying the plant’s fermentation stillage and using the material to heat 70 per cent of the plant
- Conduct energy beet yield trials at five regional locations across North Dakota
- Initiate an engineering study that seeks to extend the storage life of energy beet juice
- Conduct producer and community education programs in up to five targeted regions but initially focused in Griggs and Steele counties Tasks 1 and 3 are needed to finalize the plant design. Obviously, obtaining more of the plant’s energy from dried fermentation stillage will reduce the size of the heating plant required.
…Therefore, energy beets could be ground and the juice extracted at remote sites closer to farm production areas. The juice then would be shipped at a later time for biofuel processing. READ MORE
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