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Minneapolis, June 1– Eleven students from Worthington High School visited Heron Lake Bioenergy on May 30 to learn about ethanol production.

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Minneapolis, June 23 - Thirteen students from New London-Spicer High School visited Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC) in Benson yesterday to learn about ethanol production.
 
"We were pleased to welcome New London-Spicer High School to our facility to learn about Minnesota-produced renewable energy. Tours like this are an opportunity for students to learn about the pivotal role science plays in ethanol production," said Chad Friese, CEO of CVEC.
 
During the tour, the students learned several components of ethanol production including incoming grain grading, grain handling, fermentation, grain storage, dried distiller grain production and storage, ethanol storage and shipment.
 
The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association. CVEC is a member of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.
 
"Today's tour is the seventh tour we've organized this year and is part of our annual grant program to schools in Minnesota to tour and learn about ethanol production.
 
"The ethanol industry plays a vital role in Minnesota's agriculture industry and through these tours, students are given a chance to see and understand the process of converting a homegrown renewable ingredient into clean energy," said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.
 
Jeffery Gabrielson, agriculture instructor at New London-Spicer High School, said the tour demonstrated the limitless potential for agriculture when partnered with science and technology.
 
"I also hope this tour encourages our youth to pursue careers in one of the many facets of agriculture," Gabrielson said.

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Minneapolis, July 27 – Hth companies has become the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association’s latest vendor member.

“We are pleased to welcome hth companies to our growing roster of members. All of our members are committed to growing and strengthening Minnesota’s ethanol industry,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.

Headquartered in Union, Missouri, hth companies provides a wide-array of services to commercial and industrial customers throughout the Midwest. It has branches in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.

Among its services for the ethanol industry include mechanical insulation, scaffold erection, hydro blasting, vacuum trucks (for small maintenance problems to complete plant turnaround services), mechanical work such as pipe fitting, welding and pump repairs and confined space rescue.

The company also specializes in complete turnaround services for the ethanol industry in energy center maintenance, distillation and process maintenance and grain maintenance.

In 2016, hth companies was named Contractor of the Year by Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc, which is a national construction industry trade association that represents over 21,000 members.

“We chose to join the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association as an added resource for us in fulfilling the needs of both our current customers and future customers,” said Mike Freese, president of hth companies.

With over 30 years of experience in the industry, hth companies has won multiple safety awards and has held an award-winning EMR below .60 for three consecutive years. Hth personnel are safety trained in meeting and, in many cases, exceeding Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards.

“Hth has proven to be successful at providing services to the ethanol industry because we recognize employee development as vital to success and regard our clients as principal by listening and delivering economical solutions that meet their needs. Hth is small enough to listen but big enough to deliver,” Freese said.  

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Minneapolis, Aug 8 – Thirty-one children from Farm Camp Minnesota visited Guardian Energy in Janesville yesterday to get a closer look at homegrown renewable energy production.

Farm Camp Minnesota is an annual program that hosts one-day events in three different areas of the state. Sponsored by farmers and agribusinesses, the events are aimed at providing a fun and interactive learning experience for children entering grades three to six.

“We were pleased to welcome the Farm Camp Minnesota participants to learn more about ethanol production and its importance to the agriculture industry in Minnesota,” said Jeanne McCaherty, CEO of Guardian Energy.

The children, many of whom were accompanied by their parents, toured the Guardian Energy facility for 45 minutes where they learned about incoming grain handling, grain storage, liquefaction, fermentation, distillation, distiller grain drying, corn oil separation and production storage and product shipment.

“This is the first year Farm Camp Minnesota has included an ethanol tour in their program. It’s important to educate students on where clean renewable energy comes from and how it’s used,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.    

The visit to Guardian Energy, organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, was part of the Farm Camp Minnesota event in Waseca on Aug 7. The other two Farm Camp Minnesota events will be in St Cloud (Aug 15) and Northfield (Aug 16).

“Farm Camp Minnesota was happy to work together with the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association to be able to provide our campers and their chaperones with an added opportunity to learn how corn is used to fuel our cars and trucks,” said Kathy Guse, director of Farm Camp Minnesota.

She said the visit to Guardian Energy also educated the children on ethanol’s co-products like dried distiller’s grains.

“It gave them an understanding that the corn that is used for making fuel was at the same time making other products for livestock food and when further refined it also was making products for human consumption,” Guse said.

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Minneapolis, Aug 10 – Environmental engineering firm, Pinnacle Engineering Inc, has joined the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association as a vendor member.

“We are pleased to welcome our newest member, Pinnacle Engineering, which has worked closely with the ethanol industry since the 1990s,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.

Pinnacle provides a suite of environmental and engineering services to ethanol plants nationwide. These include air, water and waste permitting with Title V/ NSR / PSD, air dispersion modeling, compliance services (SWPPP, SPCC, FRP, TRI, RFS2) and engineering (civil, PSM /RMP, third party engineering reviews and audits, emissions controls).

“Pinnacle’s mission is to provide comprehensive solutions to complex environmental engineering problems. We’ve taken this service approach to the ethanol industry and supporting the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association’s efforts to represent and promote the renewable fuels industry in Minnesota is an integral part of our service,” said Steve Schleicher, Vice President of Industrial Services at Pinnacle.

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Based in Minneapolis, Pinnacle also has offices in Rochester (MN), Omaha (NE), Bismark (ND) and Billings (MT).

The company’s environmental services to the ethanol industry expanded in 2016 when the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security classified Pinnacle as an Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO).

The classification was a result of Pinnacle’s extensive experience in successful emergency response efforts, intensive employee training and development and response equipment procurement.

The OSRO classification allows the company to further assist its clients during emergencies and remediation / restoration services.

“Pinnacle’s 25-year history has largely paralleled the ethanol industry’s tremendous evolution and growth. Many of our staff members have been there for permitting and compliance support every successful step of the way,” said Todd Potas, director of industrial services.

Apart from the ethanol industry, Pinnacle also serves the environmental needs of railroad, industrial, commercial, utility and manufacturing clients.

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Picture Caption (from left to right) : Kimihiko Eura, Deputy Director at Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tim Rudnicki, Executive Director at the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association, Randall Doyal, CEO of Al-Corn Clean Fuel and Ben Stover, Plant Manager at Guardian Energy

Minneapolis, Aug 22 – The Deputy Director for Food Security at Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kimihiko Eura, toured Guardian Energy in Janesville yesterday to learn about renewable fuel production in Minnesota.

During the two-hour tour, Eura learned about incoming grain handling, grain storage, liquefaction, fermentation, distillation, dried distillers grains (DDGs), corn oil, ethanol shipment and exports at Guardian Energy.

The tour was part of Eura’s five-day working visit to Minnesota to learn about the state’s agriculture industry.

“We are interested in learning how ethanol is produced and its impact on the demand and supply of corn. We are also looking at the possibility of importing DDGs to Japan,” Eura said.

Eura’s five-day visit is hosted by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. Prior to visiting Guardian Energy, Eura visited the USDA’s office in St Paul and a farm in Randolph.

For the remainder of his trip, he will visit more farms, a grain terminal, the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, the University of Minnesota’s wheat breeding program and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway’s offices in Minneapolis.

Eura said his visit to Guardian Energy was his first time at an ethanol plant, adding Japan did not have its own ethanol industry.

Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MBA) executive director, Tim Rudnicki and MBA board member and Al-Corn Clean Fuel CEO, Randall Doyal, accompanied Eura during the tour to brief him about Minnesota’s ethanol industry. Guardian Energy’s plant manager, Ben Stover, led the tour.

“Eura was interested in learning about Minnesota’s Petroleum Displacement Law, which calls for higher usage of biofuels as well as how ethanol producers in our state are continuously lowering their carbon footprint,” Rudnicki said.

Guardian Energy is a MBA member.

Other participants for the tour included Minnesota Corn Growers Association’s marketing and biofuels director, Mitch Coulter, American Lung Association in Minnesota director, Jon Hunter, Minnesota Department of Agriculture supervisor, Bob Patton and IC Net Ltd business development specialist, Shizuka Kunimoto.    

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Picture Caption (from left to right): Stover, Rudnicki, Kunimoto and Eura at the Guardian Energy ethanol plant

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Lamberton, Sept 19 – Eleven students from Red Rock Central High School traveled across town on Sept 15 to visit Highwater Ethanol to learn about renewable energy production. 

The students, from grades 9 to 12, toured Highwater Ethanol’s administrative office, water treatment process, incoming grain grading and handling, ethanol loadout, ethanol process facility, energy center, dried distiller grain production and storage.

“We were pleased to welcome our hometown students today. The ethanol industry plays a vital role in boosting the economy in Lamberton and other parts of Minnesota. Through tours like this, students are given a better idea of potential careers in the ethanol industry,” said Brian Kletscher, CEO of Highwater Ethanol.

The tour was organized by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association. Highwater Ethanol is a member of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.

“It’s important for students to learn about a clean renewable fuel that is being produced right in their town. Minnesota-produced ethanol reduces harmful greenhouse gas emissions, boosts the local economy, makes America more energy independent and lowers prices at the pump,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.

Jessica Juncewski, agriculture science teacher at Red Rock Central High School, said it was important for her students to learn about ethanol production.

“The ethanol industry is an important part of agriculture. It provides an alternative source of fuels for our vehicles while promoting a renewable resource and kids need to understand how important that is.

“By having this opportunity, I hope my students will learn the value of agriculture and understand why biofuels are an important aspect of American agriculture,” she said.

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Minneapolis, Sept 21 – The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MBA) and KS95 FM teamed up on Sept 20 to reward drivers who fueled up with E15 (Unleaded Plus) at Bona Bros Minnoco in Fridley.

From 12:30 pm–1:30 pm, MBA and KS95 rewarded 12 drivers who switched to E15 from regular unleaded.

Among the prizes given were $20 in cash, $25 gift certificates to Chili’s and KS95 merchandise. In addition, E15 was priced 15 cents per gallon less than regular unleaded during the promotion.

KS95 personality, Rudy Pavich, was with MBA staff at Bona Bros Minnoco educating consumers on the various benefits of using E15.

“As gas prices rose the last few weeks, more consumers have been switching to E15. At most stations in Minnesota, E15 is on average 10 cents cheaper than regular unleaded.

“Besides saving at the pump, consumers at yesterday’s event were keen on using a fuel that has a higher octane, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and is made in Minnesota,” said Tim Rudnicki, MBA executive director.

There are currently over 150 stations in Minnesota that offer E15 with over 50 in the Twin Cities metro area.

E15 sales in the first seven months of 2017 was 5.95 million gallons, exceeding the volume sold for the whole of 2016 (5.68 million gallons).