Prior Lake, Minnesota - Koda Energy, a joint partnership of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Rahr Malting, will break ground for its renewable energy project on September 13, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. This innovative venture is a combined heat and power plant which will generate electricity and heat utilizing agricultural byproducts and grown energy crops. The project gets its name from the word "Koda" which means "friend" in the Dakota Language.

The groundbreaking will be held on the Rahr Malting campus in Shakopee, Minnesota, on Highway 101, approximately seven miles from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Growing awareness of the environment has made the recycling and reduction of the world's waste streams more important than ever. Many industrial processes produce solid wastes and by-products with sufficient heating value to be considered for energy use. In many cases, the use of these low cost waste streams makes both environmental and economic sense. The use of biomass fuels produces low emission levels when compared to fossil fuels and is considered to be CO2 neutral. Energy crops can actually reduce atmospheric carbon. Biomass fuels are one of the largest sources of renewable energy. The fuel for this project is a composite of several types of biomass wastes, primarily oat hulls mixed with barley malting waste.

This environmentally friendly project uses waste from malting and food processing to generate electricity. Considerably cleaner than a coal plant, this biomass energy generation project will some day be able to provide energy for most SMSC needs. The project will provide 100% of the energy and heat needed by Rahr in its work as one of the world's largest producer of malt and brewing supplies.

The basis of design for the system is the clean and efficient conversion of barley malting waste and oat hulls into usable forms of energy. Growing the plants uses carbon from the atmosphere; burning them releases it. Purpose grown energy crops can sequester carbon in their root system thus lowering overall atmospheric carbon. There is no net gain of carbon dioxide (the major greenhouse gas) to the environment. Unlike coal burning generators, no mercury will be released into the environment.

The facility will be very efficient. Fuel materials which are by-products of food processing would normally be taken to a landfill or used as soil amendments or animal feed. With this new project, instead they will be used to generate heat and electricity, resulting in the near-complete use of the original crop. It first serves as a food or fiber source, then an electric power source, and finally as a heat source. There will be very little remaining solid waste in the form of non-toxic ash to be used as a soil amendment or for inclusion in other projects.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Rahr Malting formed Koda Energy, a Limited Liability Company, in 2006 to build and operate the facility. Groundbreaking for the construction will be on September 13, 2007, with construction anticipated to be complete by December 2008.

The boiler and auxiliary equipment will be capable of generating 250,000 pounds per hour steam flow at 600 psig, 700 degrees F when firing the specified fuel.

McBurney Stoker and Equipment Company of Norcoss, Georgia, will provide engineering and consulting services to the project. McBurney, founded in 1911 as a manufacturer of coal burning equipment, is a leader in biomass fired steam and power plant facilities for wood products, pulp, and paper, and independent power industries.

^ top ^