The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has selected five renewable energy projects to receive NextGen Energy funding totaling $1.69m under the Agricultural Growth, Research and Innovation (AGRI) program.
According to MDA, the funding will be provided to bioenergy and biochemical projects that include Easy Energy Systems, Central Minnesota Renewables, Segetis, the University of Minnesota, and Duluth Steam.
The projects that received NextGen funding included: Easy Energy Systems in Welcome; Central Minnesota Renewables in Little Falls; Segetis in Golden Valley; the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth; and Duluth Steam, also in Duluth.
The Easy Energy Systems will receive $500,000 grant for project calls of building a showplace biofuel production facility capable of testing multiple feedstocks, verifying economic data, and confirming conversion rates at Welcome in Minnesota.
Central Minnesota Renewables project will receive a $500,000 funding for final engineering work needed to convert the existing 20 million gallon per year ethanol facility to n-butanol production for the chemical industry.
Segetis will receive a $325,000 funding to be used for equipment, capital construction and materials for operation of a pilot plant for process development required to commercialize its biobased non-phthalate plasticizer.
The University of Minnesota will receive a $217,500 grant to develop a biomass fuel pretreatment process in collaboration with Syngas Technologies for putting feedstock into a high-pressure gasifier that produces drop-in biofuels.
For the Duluth Steam project in Duluth, a $150,000 grant will be used to facilitate the detailed design, procurement and installation of an on-site biomass receiving, storage, and feed system.
The project utilizes up to 25% biomass feedstocks from local forestry operations and will displace the current use of western coal.
MDA Commissioner Dave Frederickson said, "Although only five projects could be selected from the 35 submitted, it’s an encouraging sign to see so many Minnesota companies interested in the health of our environment."
"I’m glad to see our AGRI dollars in the NextGen Energy grant are funding projects that not only provide a vibrant economy today, but a clean environment for our future," Frederickson added.
In addition to the $1,692,500 grant, a $588,500 has been set aside for a separate RFP for biomass thermal projects, targeting overall project sizes of $200,000 to $300,000.