Domestic Fuel

DMI Industries, a leading manufacturer of wind generator towers, has named Stefan Nilsson as president of the West Fargo, North Dakota-based company.

A company press release says he’ll lead a company that has its fingers in several other alternative energy sources:

“I am impressed with DMI’s recent expansion activity and excited to help guide the company’s strategic direction and future success,” Nilsson said. “The wind energy sector holds tremendous opportunity, and DMI will continue to grow as a leader in tower manufacturing.”

DMI is a heavy steel wind tower manufacturer with plants located in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Ontario, Canada. The company also has capabilities to produce equipment for a wide variety of industries, including agricultural processing; ethanol production; oil and gas extraction, processing and refining; and water and waste water processing.

You can read more about the company at www.dmiindustries.com.

The Albany Port District Commission has approved a proposal to build an ethanol plant on port property which officials say it the largest development project in the history of the port.

According to the Albany Times-Union, the developer, Albany Renewable Energy LLC, would bring in 60 million bushels of corn annually — about what is produced in all of New York state — from regional and Midwest farmers.

The plant still needs to obtain financing and permits from the state Department of Environmental Conservation before construction can begin. Company officials say construction would take 6 to 12 months.

The Schenectady Gazette reports that the plant will be designed and built by ICM Inc. of Kansas, and that the company is also looking to acquire the rights to build another smaller production facility at the port. The total cost of the two plants could reach $350 million.

Albany Renewable Energy plans to send processed ethanol from its plant by barge to terminals at the major ports in Boston, New York City and Philadelphia.

Range Fuels has announced that it has received private financing totaling over $100 million to complete the construction of the first phase of its commercial cellulosic ethanol plant located near the town of Soperton, Georgia. The first phase of construction for the Soperton Plant is targeted to produce approximately 20 million gallons of ethanol and mixed alcohols per year and is scheduled for completion in 2009.

Range Fuels uses a thermo-chemical process compared to most competing cellulosic processes which use biochemical technology.

The company will use woody biomass in the form of sustainably harvested forest trees and waste materials from Georgia forests.

The latest “Ethanol Report” podcast from the Renewable Fuels Association features comments from four ethanol industry leaders about the future of the ethanol industry and what role the RFA will play in it.

Featured are RFA Vice Chairman Tom Branhan of Glacial Lakes Energy in Watertown, South Dakota; Renewable Fuels Foundation chairman Bill Lee with Chippewa Valley Ethanol in Minnesota; RFA and RFF board member Dan Schwartzkopf with ICM’s LifeLine Foods; and Ryland Utlaut of Mid-Missouri Energy, a board member of RFA and past chairman of the National Corn Growers Association.

You can subscribe to “The Ethanol Report” by following this link.

Or you can listen to it on-line here: ethanol-report-09.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (2.6MB)

Fremont Industries has launched a new division to offer specialized water services to the biofuels industry. The new Biofuels Group division reportedly will help the ethanol industry become even better environmental stewards with a process that significantly reduces typical solid discharge levels from the water used during ethanol production.

The innovative technology allows ethanol plants to recycle and reuse wastewater streams as an alternative to discharge.

“Starting with a plant’s re-engineered water balance, the design team optimizes current water use and then focuses on recycle and reuse options combined with creative equipment applications to reduce the environmental impact of the discharged water,” explained Chris Robbins, national sales manager of the Biofuels Group. “The result is reduced or elimination of plant water discharge.”

Fremont has been involved as a supplier for the biofuels industry for almost 20 years and they expect the new division to provide even more focused and committed resources to the unique needs of the ethanol industry.