A 'Golden Triangle': In Nebraska, Ethanol, Cattle and Agriculture Are Intertwined, with Major Impacts on the State's Economy.

by Matt Thompson (Ethanol Producer Magazine) It’s fitting that the Cornhusker State should be an important player in the nation’s ethanol industry. Second only to Iowa in production, Nebraska’s ethanol industry has a big impact on the state’s economy.

In addition to a strong corn-growing contingent, Nebraska has an impressive cattle sector, and strong railroad infrastructure. With the state’s central location, it’s clear there are several benefits to producing ethanol there.

“The ethanol industry, the livestock industry and the agricultural community as a whole, we call that the ‘golden triangle,’” says Roger Berry, incoming administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board. “You grow the corn to produce the ethanol, you get the distillers grains, which then feeds the livestock, which then just starts the cycle all over again. It just all supports each other.”

Nebraska even has a U.S. EPA-approved pilot program to study the use of higher blends in state-owned vehicles. EPA granted a waiver to the state of Nebraska to use E30 in non-flex fuel vehicles, and a waiver to co-applicant retail stations to sell E30 to vehicles participating in the study. “We’re going to study mileage and maintenance and so forth to help raise awareness, educate people, and really dispel some of the myths that are out there about using higher blends of ethanol,” ( Nebraska Gov. Pete) Ricketts says.

Caswell (Sarah Caswell, outgoing administrator of the NEB) says that while other E30 studies have been done, Nebraska’s will be the first to be overseen by an engineering team. The study began in early June and will run for one year. “We’re using 52 state fleet vehicles in this program, 26 matched pairs so that one control vehicle will fill up with regular gasoline, and the E30 vehicle will fill up with E30 and we’ll compare and contrast,” Caswell says.

In June, Fischer (Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.) introduced a bill with Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., that seeks to increase transparency in the small refinery exemption process. “In the past, EPA has issued small refinery exemptions after the renewable volume obligations have already been determined,” Fischer said when the bill was announced. “That’s unfair, and it hurts our farmers and ethanol producers. This bill would shine a light on what’s been an obscure exemption process and help promote economic growth in rural America.” The bill would require petitions for exemptions be filed by June 1 each year, and would require EPA to report to Congress its method for granting small refinery exemptions.

In addition, Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., was one of the signatories on a letter sent to EPA outlining concerns about the administration’s process for granting small refinery waivers. “They ended up getting 35 bipartisan signatures on their letter that they sent to Administrator Wheeler at the EPA expressing deep concern about their current process for evaluating petitions for small refinery waivers,” Caswell says. “We have excellent representation in Congress and at the state level.”

Innovation in Nebraska
Nebraska’s ethanol industry is a leader in innovation, Caswell and Berry say. “We have 25 existing ethanol plants, and as the industry develops and grows, those plants and their attributes, like being close to railroads, make it very attractive for, say, renewable chemicals producers to look to partner with those existing facilities and, as a result, we’ve seen bio-campuses pop up all over the state,” Caswell says.

Berry points to innovations like those at Flint Hills Resources in Fairmont, Nebraska. “They have developed a system into their plant which is allowing them to produce a very high-protein feed, which is going to aquaculture.”

The plant added Fluid Quip Process Technologies’ Maximized Stillage Coproducts technology late last year.

Siouxland Ethanol in Jackson has recently been certified by the California Air Resources Board to sell its cellulosic corn kernel fiber ethanol in California under the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Another ethanol innovation taking shape in Nebraska is the addition of White Dog Labs’ ProTyton production technology. ProTyton is a single-cell protein ingredient used in the aquaculture market, and Midwest Renewable Energy in Sutherland will be the first ethanol plant to use the technology. Invest Nebraska, the state’s public-private venture development organization, invested in White Dog late last year.

Nebraska also hosts the Emerging Issues Forum each year, Berry says. He says the forum is “always on the cusp of what’s going on in these new technologies and that’s attended by people all over the nation.

“What probably will affect the ethanol plants down the road is how many acres are going to be prevented from planting this year, due to the flooding and due to the wet conditions,” Berry says. “Those rivers changed course and just deposited sand on the fields.” READ MORE