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Company
Name
SunOpta (STKL)
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Company Web
Site
http://www.sunopta.com/
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Headquarters
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
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Latest
News
MINNETONKA, Minn., Nov 6, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) --SunOpta Inc. (SunOpta or the Company) (STKL:SunOpta, Inc.) today announced that Central Minnesota Cellulosic Ethanol Partners (CMCEP) received notification from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture that it has been awarded an approximately $1 million NextGen matching grant for support of the project entitled "Second Phase Feasibility Study and Detailed Engineering for Commercial 10 Million Gallon Per Year Cellulosic Ethanol Plant." CMCEP is a joint venture between Central MN Ethanol Co-op, Bell Independent Power Corporation (BIPC), and SunOpta BioProcess Inc. (SBI), a subsidiary of SunOpta. Each partner is a one-third owner of the previously announced CMCEP joint venture.
The feasibility study is anticipated to lead to design and construction of the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol production facility in Minnesota. The proposed facility will be sited adjacent to CMEC's existing 21.5 million gallon starch-to-ethanol plant in Little Falls, MN. Cellulosic ethanol will be produced primarily from wood chips from poplar as well as other cellulose-containing materials utilizing SBI's proprietary fiber preparation and pre-treatment technology. The facility will also provide for co-generation of electricity based on a BIPC-engineered system.
SBI President Murray Burke commented, "We are grateful to Governor Tim Pawlenty and Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson for their foresight in recognizing the tremendous potential for commercial cellulosic ethanol production in the State of Minnesota. Because it uses only inedible plant fibers, cellulosic ethanol offers a viable source of clean, renewable energy with no negative impact on the food supply and pricing. SBI wishes to recognize the State of Minnesota for its support of innovative technologies that have the ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, enhance rural economic vitality, and reduce dependence on foreign oil."
The NextGen Energy Board was established in 2007 by Governor Pawlenty and the Minnesota Legislature to implement an ambitious program for "Next Generation Energy" in Minnesota. These goals include a target for 25 percent of all Minnesota's energy to be derived from renewable resources by 2025 and the establishment of targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 (from a 2005 baseline) with interim reduction milestones for intervening years. The NextGen grant follows a $100,000 matching grant awarded to the CMCEP venture on May 12, 2008 from Minnesota's Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) for initial phase work.
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(11/20/07) SunOpta Inc. plans to construct a 10 million-gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant in Minnesota with the Central Minnesota Ethanol Co-op, the company said Tuesday. SunOpta has signed a letter of intent to complete a feasibility study for SunOpta and the co-op to jointly build, own and operate the plant, which will use local wood chips as raw material, rather than corn. The proposed operation is expected to be built next to CMEC's existing 21.5 million-gallon-per-year corn ethanol plant in Little Falls, Minn. Rising corn costs and overexpansion have hurt the ethanol sector's profitability this year. Plans call for eventual expansion of the new plant to over 50 million gallons per year. SunOpta did not disclose cost estimates.
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