Today, Senator John Hoeven for North Dakota announced he backs the development of a new $350M soybean crushing plant project in Spiritwood, N.D. Indeed, the agriculture company ADM will be in charge of running the project until completion.
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In this way, the project aims to provide a convenient, local market for North Dakota state’s soybean producers. Besides, the projected plant will support good-paying jobs and economic growth in the region.
A joint work
According to Hoeven, the local administration is working with ADM to convert the resulting soybean plant into a four-for-one project. Therefore, several officials expect the project to tie together North Dakota’s agriculture and energy industries in new and innovative ways.
Thus, this means realizing opportunities first, directly to benefit farmers and the local economy. Second, to provide locally-processed soybean oil to Marathon Petroleum’s renewable diesel facility in Dickinson. Third, to make good use of waste steam from GRE’s Spiritwood station. And last but not least, to tie into carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects and sequester CO2 off the Dakota Spirit ethanol plant at the ag-energy park.
Moreover, the plant will crush over 50M bushels of soybeans per year or approximately 25% of North Dakota’s yearly production. As a result, this will help reduce producers’ transportation costs, allowing them to retain their crop value. Also, while alleviating the state’s reliance on exports to foreign nations, said Hoeven.
Worth noting, the facility will purchase excess steam from the nearby Spiritwood station. Thus, helping ensure better overall efficiency for the two operations.
Besides, while purchasing Spiritwood’s steam, the project will provide an additional revenue stream for the power plant, an essential source of baseload power for the region.
Soybean feedstock for Marathon Petroleum’s biofuels
Equally important is the fact that the new crush plant dovetails with the recently completed conversion of Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in Dickinson to produce renewable diesel.
Through a partnership with Marathon, farmers in the region will benefit from more reliable demand for the high-quality crops they grow.
Finally, North Dakota is leading the way in the development and implementation of CCUS technologies. To this end, the local administration worked over a decade to provide needed legal, tax, and regulatory certainty.
As a result, companies like Red Trail Energy, Midwest AgEnergy, and Summit Carbon Solutions are building the infrastructure needed to capture, transport, and store carbon emissions from ethanol facilities.
A biofuel market
For instance, now Midwest AgEnergy is developing a planned CCUS project at its Dakota Spirit facility in the Spiritwood Energy Park, adjacent to the power station and ADM’s upcoming soybean crushing facility.
Moreover, ethanol producers can now sell to states like California that have low-carbon standards for fuel, ensuring access to a broader market.
Lastly, Sen. Hoeven declared, “In these ways, ADM’s soybean crush facility represents a collection of even larger benefits than anticipated. Thus, we continue to expand the shared nexus between agriculture and energy; and accordingly, North Dakota continues to lead the way in developing the industries of the future.
