South Dakota’s Biofuels and Economic Boom
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) South Dakota has become one of the fastest-growing states in the US, at the same time as it has achieved energy independence through development of its biofuels fleet. Coincidence, or correlation? We look at the data, and the trends powering South Dakota’s biofuels industry.
…The fastest-growing states? In order: North Dakota, West Virginia, Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, Iowa, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming, Michigan and Nebraska.
…With the exception of Oregon and Michigan, you might note that these are all energy giants in one way or another.
…There are many components to GDP, and agriculture and energy are just two – but we have been reporting data for years that suggests that energy independence is an important and under-recognized platform for state economies, and the data continues to pile up.
While that message may be a tough sell at the Wall Street Journal, it’s not so hard to find believers in South Dakota, which has been growing at a fast clip over the last decade despite a lack of the kind of below-ground energy assets that, say, North Dakota is blessed with.
…On the production side, 110 million gallons in fossil fuel production, and 1.028 billion gallons in biofuels. The surplus for export? That’s around 14 percent – not enough to make South Dakota the Saudi Arabia of the plains states, but certainly Kuwait or Qatar come to mind.
… In our discussions with South Dakota players in recent weeks and in our Midwest tour, we heard five themes – though in many ways, they are built atop the foundation of the state’s first-generation fleet.
1. Cellulosic ethanol from the Badlands to Brazil. After many years of “when?”, the sector is moving from R&D to production. …
2. Isobutanol. …
3. Corn oil. …
4. State support and public-private partnership. …
5. Plant efficiency and sustainability. READ MORE
