PRIAM -- Long-held aspirations by the Minnesota Valley Alfalfa Producers in Priam to create green energy on west central farms just got a $1 million boost.
Xcel Energy is awarding a $1 million grant to the farmer-owned cooperative to research its proposal to produce biomass fuel using a patented technology from Canada.
"We're very excited,'' said Duane Hultgren, MnVAP general manager, when contacted on Friday.
He said the company is pursuing a proposal that would convert a variety of agricultural products -- such as corn stover or straw -- into a pellet-form biomass fuel.
MnVAP has acquired patented technology from First American Scientific Corp of Vancouver, British Columbia. The technology is very energy efficient at "densification,'' or converting biomass matter into pellet form.
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The system uses less electricity to create pellets than other systems, and it requires no heat for drying the matter, said Hultgren. The company calls its product the KDS Micronex Reduction System, which it describes on its Web site as using extreme velocity impact mill technology to reduce material to very fine sizes.
MnVAP will research the feasibility of using any of 16 different biomass products from the farm and producing biomass pellets as a fuel for larger-scale burners.
Hultgren said there is a great deal of research needed. The grant will fund research to adapt the Canadian technology to the needs of biomass production in west central Minnesota.
Before any testing can begin, the company must obtain permits from the state. MnVAP is hoping that process can be completed by April, he added.
The grant award to MnVAP is one of 22 grants totaling nearly $23 million announced by Xcel Energy for renewable energy projects in the state.
Xcel is also awarding $979,082 to the University of Minnesota to develop the best management for harvesting biomass and for the maintenance of soil quality.
The university is working to develop the infrastructure to produce and collect biomass fuel to power and heat buildings on its Morris campus.
MnVAP doesn't anticipate using alfalfa or the stems of the plant as a biomass fuel source, as was once considered. The company produces a variety of animal feed products from alfalfa, some of them in pellet form. The value of alfalfa is too high to justify its use as a biomass fuel, he said.
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The farmer-cooperative originally purchased the Priam facility in 1996 with intentions of using a fractionation process to separate alfalfa leaves and stems. The proposal called for using the stems as an energy source to produce electricity for sale to Xcel while the leaves would continue to be sold as animal feed.
