FERGUS FALLS -- Otter Tail Ag Enterprises LLC will be among the first to take advantage of newly developed technology to convert the byproducts of ethanol production into clean energy as well.
The company is constructing a Bio-Energy Center as part of its 55 million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant near Fergus Falls, according to a news release.
A member informational meeting is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Holiday Inn and Willmar Conference Center.
The plant will use the newly developed Mcgyan process to convert a wide range of feedstocks, including the byproducts from ethanol production, into biodiesel. In addition to biodiesel, the Otter Tail plant could produce electricity.
Plant byproducts would be supplied to an on-site anaerobic digester to produce methane as fuel to generate electricity.
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The project has the potential to create new jobs and revenues, and should be environmentally clean, according to Anthony Hicks, CEO of Otter Tail Ag Enterprises.
The Mcgyan technology was initially developed at the University of Minnesota's Department of Chemistry by Dr. Peter W. Carr. It was adapted for a biodiesel process by Professor Arlin Gyberg of Augsburg College and Dr. Clayton McNeff, co-founder of Ever Cat Fuels LLC.
