×

Warning

JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 727

The Ethanol Industry's Economic Footprint in Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District

  • Monday, 09 April 2018 15:12

Continuing our series on the ethanol industry’s economic footprint in each of Minnesota’s congressional districts, we head over to seventh congressional district which encompasses almost the entire western edge of the state from the Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods County to counties in southern Minnesota like Pipestone and Murray.

The district includes the Red River Valley and the Minnesota River Valley and cities such as Detroit Lakes, Grand Forks, Glencoe, Montevideo, Sauk Centre, Willmar, Alexandria, Hutchinson and Redwood Falls.

In fact, the Seventh Congressional District is Minnesota's largest agricultural district with 22,618 square miles of farm land, which makes it a fitting home to eight ethanol plants that collectively produce 474.5 million gallons a year.

The ethanol plants in this district are ADM in Marshall, Bushmills Ethanol in Atwater, CVEC in Benson, Denco II in Morris, Granite Falls Energy in Granite Falls, Green Plains Renewable Energy in Fergus Falls, Heartland Corn Products in Winthrop and Highwater Ethanol in Lamberton (which plans to increase capacity from 59.5 million gallons to 70.2 million gallons a year).

Apart from ethanol production, there are 26 vendor companies located in this district that provide a range of services such as industrial construction, hydro blasting, fuel equipment setup, financial leases, ethanol transportation, supply chain management, plant design, maintenance services, chemical processing and grain handling.

Some of these companies include Christianson PLLP, JTI Services, Compeer Financial, Twin Cities and Western Railroad, Premium Plant Services, JD Construction, Integrated Power Services, Warrior MFG, Northdale Oil, and Corval Group.

And in addition to vendor companies, the seventh district is home to 96 gas stations that offer higher blends of ethanol. In fact, this district has the most number of stations offering higher ethanol blends in Minnesota.

Among the brands offering fuels such as E15, E30 and E85 include, Holiday, Cenex, Kwik Trip, and a majority of independent retailers.