The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today announced that six new member companies have joined the organization, including a state-of-the-art ethanol plant under construction in Kansas, a cellulosic ethanol facility soon to begin construction in North Dakota, and four associate members who provide goods and services to the industry. The new RFA members are:
- ELEMENT LLC, a partnership between ICM, Inc. and The Andersons, Inc., is building a 70 million gallon per year biorefinery in Colwich, Kan. The ethanol plant, designed and constructed by ICM, Inc., will also use ICM's patent-pending Generation 1.5 Grain Fiber to Cellulosic Ethanol Technologyâ„¢ to produce more than five million gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually. Construction on the plant began in March, and it is expected to be fully operational by year-end 2019.
- New Energy Blue is building a 16 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol plant in the Spiritwood Energy Park near Jamestown, N.D. The plant will use 280,000 tons per year of North Dakota wheat straw as its main feedstock and sell its biofuel into the California market under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Construction is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2019. The company expects to commission the facility in 2021 and will be operating at full capacity by mid-year.
- Associate member GROWMARK is an agricultural cooperative that offers a full line of energy products. GROWMARK Energy offers a complete line of refined and renewable fuels, propane, and lubricants to member cooperatives and retail energy distributors across the Midwest. Earlier this month, the division announced it had started offering pre-blended E15 at its company-owned terminals in Amboy, Ashkum, and Petersburg, Ill., Fort Dodge, Iowa, and St. Joseph, Mo.
- Associate member BetaTec Hop Products provides natural, customized solutions for controlling bacteria and enhancing fermentation for ethanol producers. It is a division of the world's largest hops supplier, the Barth-Haas Group.
- Associate member Renew Kansas represents the state's independent ethanol producers, as well as farmers and those who provide services to the ethanol production industry in Kansas.
- Associate member RSM US LLP is the U.S. member of RSM International, a global network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms with more than 43,000 people in over 120 countries.
