By Nicole Achs Freeling

U.S. biodiesel production tripled in 2006, while ethanol production is up 27 percent — with almost half as many new plants under construction as already exist in this country. Cogeneration and other bioenergy plants also are coming online as demand for new energy sources continues to swell.

Alternative energy is sparking a bustling new sector in the construction industry. “We can’t get enough plants built,” says Michael Ahern, Vice President of the Industrial Division of NewMech Companies, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota, which is working with Parsons Electric LLC on the construction of an ethanol plant in the Midwest and is involved in the expansion of several others. But these plants offer more than promising construction markets. They also convey tremendous benefi ts to the communities they serve, bringing jobs, cheaper and cleaner energy sources, and income opportunities to farmers for products traditionally thought of as waste.

A market on the rise

Faribault Energy Park in Faribault, Minnesota, is a 250-megawatt cogeneration facility scheduled to go on line in spring 2007.

When it first came on the market in 1980, ethanol was a cottage industry that produced 175 million gallons of fuel a year. That number has swelled to 4.3 billion gallons today. The last two years in particular have marked a watershed for the ethanol industry, with new fuel effi ciency standards and other federal mandates pushing demand — and production — to unprecedented levels.

Ethanol, a clean-burning, high-octane fuel made from crops such as corn and grains, utilizes a renewable resource — agricultural products. By using domestically grown materials, it helps reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.

Some 48 new ethanol refineries are currently under construction, and another seven are in expansion. When complete, these facilities will boost U.S. ethanol production by as much as 75 percent. But even with the new plants coming on line, demand continues to outstrip supply. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) forecasts that ethanol production will continue to grow by at least 20 percent a year to keep up with the demand. Growth is fueled by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included the Renewable Fuels Standard that established “for the first time a nationwide baseline for renewable fuel use,” according to RFA. As of 2006, oil refiners must use at least 4 billion gallons per year of renewable fuel. That figure increases in increments to 7.5 billion gallons per year in 2012. The two most popular ethanol blends in use today are E10, which is 10 percent ethanol and can be used in any engine without modifi cation, and E85, an alternative fuel that is 85 percent ethanol for use in fl exible fuel vehicles.

“This area [of construction] is booming,” says Parsons Vice President Jack Claeson. In addition to the ethanol plant Parsons is working on with NewMech, the company is also in discussion about several other plants planned in Minnesota and South Dakota. “This is the corn belt, so this is where it’s all happening,” Claeson says.

The bounty of new construction in this market was once reaped by only a few contractors who had the market cornered, says Jeff Larson, a Parsons Project Manager. But over the last year or so, he says, demand “has expanded to more than the original players can handle. That’s opened things up a bit.”

Faribault Energy Park has proven to be a major economic stimulator.

The boom in ethanol production has had myriad benefits, both on a national level and in the communities where these plants are built. A typical 40-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant will create 32 full-time jobs, according to the National Corn Growers Association. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that ethanol production in the United States adds 30 cents to the value of a bushel of corn. Other studies show that the per-bushel price of corn is five to eight cents higher in regions with ethanol plants.

The effects are even more impressive nationally. According to a study by the RFA, the construction of new capacity has supported the creation of more than 150,000 jobs, most of them in rural areas where opportunities are scarce. In 2005, construction and expansion of ethanol plants added $17.7 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. And the production of 4 billion gallons of ethanol meant the United States needed to import 170 million fewer barrels of oil. Simply put, with more ethanol in the fuel, more of the money Americans spend at the gas pump stays in the United States, stimulating the economy and reducing the trade deficit.

Fuel from turkey

Benson, Minnesota, a hamlet of 3,500 people in the heart of turkey-processing country, is, in most ways, a nondescript town. But it is soon to be the site of a groundbreaking alternative energy plant that will generate electricity using fuel from a most unlikely source — turkey litter.

The Fibrominn bio­mass plant, which Parsons is helping to construct, will have a gross output of 62 megawatts of continuous electrical energy. The Fibrominn plant represents a unique concept in green energy, turning what was once waste into a source of electrical power and income for farmers.

Turkey litter is transported to the plant via cover trucks contracted for by Fibrominn and stored in a football field-size building. The litter is dumped into a 30-foot deep by 150-foot long fuel receiving pit, where two of the four 20-ton bridge cranes move it from the fuel receiving pit to the fuel storage area where it is deposited according to its level of moisture.

The remaining two bridge cranes in the automated crane system then move the litter from the fuel storage area to the fuel feeders based on the moisture level requirements of the boiler to maintain a consistent burn rate. The litter then goes by conveyor belt into a boiler building. The boiler produces all the steam to feed the 62-megawatt steam turbine. The byproduct of the process is ash, which is then sent to the ash, which is then sent to the ash Parsons got involved with this project at groundbreaking over a year ago. It provided the initial electrical grounding for the project, as well as temporary electrical for all the power needed to build the plant. Parsons also is providing complete power for the fuel hall and the plant’s complex instrumentation system and control panels.

“The government used to pay farmers to dispose of the litter,” Claeson says. “Now [farmers] are able to sell it to the plant and make a profit from it.”

The Fibrominn biomass plant will have a gross output of 62 megawatts of continuous electrical energy.

The Fibrominn biomass plant is the first of its kind in the United States and is being developed by Fibrowatt LLC, Philadelphia, using technology developed by Fibrowatt in the U.K., where several similar plants have been in service since 1992. The company plans to develop and construct up to 11 similar plants in the United States over the next few years, Claeson says.

Parsons got involved with this project at groundbreaking over a year ago. It provided the initial electrical grounding for the project, as well as temporary electrical for all the power needed to build the plant. Parsons also is providing complete power for the fuel hall and the plant’s complex instrumentation system and control panels.

The project is unique, but the challenges have been much the same as for other projects — working with the customer to meet a tight time schedule. “Instrumentation usually comes in at the end, and it’s subject to everyone else’s schedule. But the end dates never seem to move,” Larson says. In this case, the end date is February 2007, meaning Parsons crews will work through a cold Minnesota winter to complete the project. The plant is expected to go live about six weeks later, when system testing is completed.

Treasure from agricultural “trash”

The plant in Benson is not the only place in which products typically destined for a landfill are turned into liquid gold. One of the fastest-growing trends in alternative fuel production is biodiesel, a clean-burning alternative fuel made from animal and agricultural byproducts. It is made from such materials as slaughterhouse waste, recycled cooking oil, and nonfood-grade virgin oils.

Biodiesel, which is used with little or no modification in the same engines that use diesel fuel, has major environmental benefits. It produces as much as 92 percent fewer greenhouse gases over its life cycle than standard diesel fuel. It helps eliminate waste. And it helps local farmers. It is estimated that growing demand could push up soybean prices by about 17 cents a bushel a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A model of environmental responsibility

Turkey litter can be used as a source of electrical power and income for farmers.

The benefits green energy brings to a community are well illustrated by another project in which Parsons is involved, Faribault Energy Park in Faribault, Minnesota. The plant, a 250-megawatt facility scheduled to go on line in spring 2007, is a cogeneration facility.

Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of heat — usually in the form of hot water or steam — and power utilizing one primary fuel. Whereas conventional power plants release into the atmosphere the heat created as a byproduct of energy production, cogeneration plants capture the byproduct and use it for home and industrial heating.

The process cuts greenhouse gas emissions significantly and can also save customers on power bills, cutting their heating expenses by up to 40 percent.

“Cogeneration is in demand for its ability to produce high efficient power with low emissions and a cleaner facility,” says Ken Jacobs, Parsons Project Manager. “Growth in this area is seen all over the United States and is expected to continue for years.”

Faribault Energy Park has proven to be a major economic stimulator for the town. Not only is it bringing construction and maintenance jobs, but it also is improving the capacity of electrical lines. Community leaders expect other businesses to be attracted to the area due to the plant’s ready-made hot water supply.

“Cogeneration is in demand for its ability to produce high efficient power with low emissions and a cleaner facility. Growth in this area is seen all over the United States and is expected to continue for years.” ~ Ken Jacobs, Project Manager, Parsons Electric

The plant will serve the region’s growing electrical needs and provide residents with a power supply that is less polluting and cheaper, cutting their utility bills by up to 40 percent.

“We see Faribault Energy Park as playing an important role in helping Minnesota meet [its] future energy needs as well as providing an economic boost to Faribault,” says Dave Pokorney, Chairman of the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency.

But Dahlen, Berg & Co., Minneapolis, the energy supply management company leading the project, decided to take it one step further, creating an educational facility and park that would be a model of environmental responsibility.

“The site includes wetlands and ponds that are used in the recycling and cleaning of the steam generation turbine,” Jacobs says. “It will have walking paths and benches. Small-scale wind, hydroelectric, and solar demonstration elements will be a part of the facility and can be used to educate people on energy production.”

The project, for which Parsons is providing design-assist services, involves three main but separate electrical systems: an electrical power system, a control power system, and an electrical instrument system. Parsons’ role is to locate, plan, and route all three systems for a finished product.

Fuels for the future

With so many positives, the appeal of alternative energy can only continue to grow. As new plants for ethanol, biodiesel, and cogeneration spring up, this market will continue to be hot and promising for the construction industry.

But it is also a sector in which participating companies can take great pride, knowing their work has far-reaching benefits for communities, the American economy, and the environment as a whole.