On August 10, 2016, Red Trail Energy, LLC, a North Dakota ethanol producer, announced that it, along with the Energy & Environmental Research Center, had been awarded $490,000 to examine the integration of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The study will consist of installing and operating a commercial CCS system in a facility producing approximately 63 million gallons of ethanol and 180,000 tons of CO2, and tracking the technical and economic parameters required. The total project is expected to cost $980,000. "North Dakota ethanol producers are well-situated to take advantage of these low-carbon fuel incentives because there is significant production capacity and ideal geology for carbon storage," said project manager Kerryanne Leroux, EERC Senior Chemical Engineer, Oilfield Operations Team Lead. Further, "[t]he study will provide local ethanol producers a detailed assessment of the commercial feasibility of utilizing CCS technology within their production operations." The project will also provide a template for implementation of CCS technology statewide, promoting renewable energy production in North Dakota.
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