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 RENEWABLE
ENERGY IN KANDIYOHI COUNTY |
We are
serious!
Kandiyohi
County has the goal to be a completely Ag-based renewable
energy economy.
Kandiyohi
County will blend economic, social and environmental priorities
to achieve this goal. As we progress, you can bet that
about 2000 U.S. counties will follow! We like our skyblue
waters in Minnesota and we will power our boats and the trucks
and cars that pull them with ethanol, biodiesel and all other
types of renewable fuels. We like our world-class medical
system. . .we will produce our own pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals
right here in Kandiyohi County without petroleum-based processes.
We respect our environment and plan to protect it . . .Kandiyohi
County will be one of the first counties in Minnesota and
the nation to step away from dependence on fossil fuels for
power.
What
we have to offer
Renewable
Resource Commercialization
EDC
Ag Committee Goals and Objectives
Priority
Actions Initiatives/Action Plan
Projects
to Date
Comparative
Costs to Relocating in Kandiyohi County
Links
to helpful information on our site
Resources
and Links
What
we have to offer in Kandiyohi County
- Kandiyohi County and Willmar, Minnesota are
centrally located in an area rich with renewable energy
raw materials—livestock and poultry manure, crop residues,
grains and oilseed production and wind.
- Kandiyohi County supported the construction
of the Bushmills
Ethanol plant in rural Atwater; local investors actively
participated in and supported this effort.
- Poultry production within Kandiyohi County
ranks third in the nation.
- Kandiyohi County and Willmar, Minnesota
have facilities and infrastructure that support administrative
and research functions for a wide range of government and
private sector functions/enterprises.
- Willmar, the county seat, is located atthe
intersections of major lines of transportation within Minnesota,
US Highways 12 and 71 and Minnesota Highway 23.
- A new airport
has been completed in Willmar .
- Two railroad lines intersect in Willmar.
- We have a large, privately-owned research
and development complex in the MinnWest
Technology Campus.
- Willmar
Municipal Utilities constructed a utility-size wind
energy product
- We are actively pursuing an anhydrous ammonia
production plant using water instead of natural gas.
- The Economic Development Commission's (EDC)
Agriculture and Renewable Energy Development (Ag) Committee
is actively working to grow the renewable energy industry
in Kandiyohi County.
- Ridgewater
College, one of the largest two-year agricultural schools
in the U.S. is located in Willmar.
Renewable
Resource Commercialization
The
EDC Ag Committee's mission is to sustain, identify and develop
agriculture, agribusiness and renewable energy opportunities.
Assistance
is available to help build a renewable resource business in
Kandiyohi County . We will provide help in the following areas:
•
Conceptual validation
•
Business Plan development
•
Financial acquisition assistance
•
Zoning and site approval
•
Renewable resource availability
•
Comparative cost evaluation
Priority
Actions Initiatives/Action Plan
- Research renewable energy alternatives to
sustain and contain costs
- Position Kandiyohi County to turn wind energy
into anhydrous ammonia as a way to store energy
- Explore development of a soybean collection
and processing facility
- Establish a renewable energy commercialization
center over the next five years
Projects
to Date
The
EDC Ag Committee has been very instrumental in the following
projects to date:
- Assisted the site selection and financing
of a local ethanol plant, Bushmills
Ethanol
- Considerable time spent researching
feasibility of digesters and methane gas production
- Formation of a wind generation subcommittee,
which resulted in the formation of two area companies aimed
at building wind farms, Whirlwind
Energy, LLC and Lake
Country Wind Energy, LLC
- Assisted with a small
wind energy guide that is available to the public
- Started a subcommittee aimed at locating
an anhydrous ammonia production plant in Kandiyohi County,
possibly linked to a wind farm
- Hosted renewable resource groups from Sweden
and China
- Sponsored and hosted a presentation site
for the 2008 International
Bioenergy Days
- See the Star
Tribune
article following the International Bioenergy Days conference
- Kandiyohi County is featured in an article,
"Renewable
Energy's Right Stuff" published in the Fall 2008
Global Xpansion magazine
Comparative
Costs to Relocating in Kandiyohi County
We
challenge you to compare
the costs of locating and operating in Kandiyohi County
versus your present or potential site.
Links
to helpful information on our site:
Agriculture
and Renewable Energy Development Committee
Business
Directory
Business
Loans & Financing
Business
Plans & Assistance
Demographic
and Labor Force Data
Kandiyohi
County Community Profiles
Local
Government and Utilities
Resources
and Links
The
EDC strives to give you as much help as we possible can. The
world of renewable resources has so much information we can't
track it all. In an effort to further your understanding,
click here for
a list of sites that can help answer your questions. If we
are missing some, please let us know so we can include them
to help others. Thank You.
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