Energy Commission invests in beet-to-energy project

A group of farmers on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley cleared another hurdle last week as they pursue a plan to build a biorefinery to convert sugar beets into ethanol and other forms of energy. The California Energy Commission awarded nearly $5 million to the company the farmers formed.

The energy commission granted the money to Mendota Bioenergy LLC to support the design, construction and operation of an advanced biorefinery demonstration plant. The plant will be used to create advanced biofuel ethanol, the commission said.

"We're very pleased, obviously, that things have gone the way they have. We're just delighted that we've come to a real good working relationship with the folks at the energy commission," said farmer Bill Pucheu of Tranquillity, president of Mendota Bioenergy Beet Cooperative and general manager of Mendota Bioenergy.

"This could be an excellent re-establishment of an old crop to a new end, to make advanced biofuels," said Jim Tischer, Mendota Bioenergy project manager.

The farmers involved in the project say it provides an innovative use for an established local crop. Sugar beets have been grown in the area for more than 100 years and were processed at a local Spreckels Sugar plant until it closed in 2008.

The project would use advanced enzyme and microbial techniques to convert 10,000 tons of sugar beets, harvested throughout the year, into 285,000 gallons of advanced biofuel ethanol. The demonstration plant will be built in Five Points. The project also supports the design and development of a future, commercial-scale biorefinery center in nearby Mendota. Eventually, proponents said, the facility could produce 40 million gallons of biofuel annually.

"This is the first energy beet project to advance to the pilot and demonstration phase in the United States," Tischer said.

With a year-round harvest schedule, the beet crop delivers ethanol yields that are greater per acre and have a lower carbon index than Brazilian sugar cane or North American corn, according to the energy commission.

Another attractive aspect of the biorefinery, the commission said, is that woody plant matter, as well as beets, will be used to produce about 15 percent of the ethanol at the Mendota plant. Also, the water in the beets, will be captured during processing and recycled, the commission said, so that little water would be used in the plant.

"This award supporting the development of an advanced biorefinery will help to keep California as the leader in alternative fuel innovation," Energy Commission Chairman Robert Weisenmiller said in a statement. "Developing advanced fuels is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to protect the environment and public health, and to meet the state's climate change policies."

The commission said it expects the project will bring new jobs and opportunities to an area with high unemployment rates and build on the collaboration of dozens of farmers who formed the Mendota Advanced Bioenergy Beet Cooperative after the local sugar plant closed. Formation of the cooperative in turn led to establishment of Mendota Bioenergy in 2011.

According to the energy commission, the demonstration project could create about 50 jobs during construction and operation. The eventual commercial biorefinery could create approximately 250 construction jobs directly and another 50 indirectly, along with 100 long-term jobs and 160 agricultural jobs.

"This is going to be a great opportunity in an area hard hit by drought and unemployment," said Fresno County Supervisor Phil Larson, who represents the Mendota region. "This puts the possibility of 35,000 acres being put back in production for a crop that disappeared five years ago."

"We're in a high-unemployment area, so these jobs mean a lot," Mendota Mayor Robert Silva said. "These folks know how to grow those beets. It's great to see the beet industry get back on its feet again."

Construction work on the demonstration plant is set to begin in June and will be completed in November. In addition, there are already almost 100 acres of sugar beets planted in Tranquillity that will be ready for harvest by the time the demonstration project is completed.

Pucheu, who already has some sugar beets planted, said those involved in the project are "optimistic that the (biorefinery plant) will be operating late this fall."

The energy commission award came from its Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, intended to encourage development and use of new technologies and alternative and renewable fuels. The program is funded through fees from vehicle and boat registration, smog checks and license plates.

(Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)