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Region Nine, Minnesota

The Region Nine, MN, BDO Zone for Corn Stover is rated ‘A’.

Rating Issue Date: January 9, 2024.

‘A’ ratings denote high prospective viability of Feedstock Supply and Infrastructure and low expectations of default risk in the Zone. Capacity to support new biobased plant operations is considered strong.

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BDO Zone Rating

Region Nine, MN, BDO Zone Overview

Feedstock quantities are expressed in bone dry tons per year (bdt/yr), while feedstock costs are expressed in USD ($). Maximum transport distance is based on a 75-mile driving distance from the center point (St. James, MN).

BDO Zone Assets:

Over 1,400,000 bone dry tons of underutilized corn stover at low risk.
One of the highest yielding corn producing areas in the country.
No established competition for corn stover in the region.
Redundancy of potential suppliers given the number of corn producers.
Sound road infrastructure in proximity with major metropolitan areas and utilities available on site.

BDO Zone Liabilities:

Producers have limited experience in harvesting and collecting corn stover efficiently in terms of cost and time.
There is no established supply chain infrastructure to support a commercial scale operation.
The corn stover harvesting season is shorter due to weather, compared to other major corn-producing regions in the country.
Challenges with attraction and retention of skilled labor needed forfield operations and logistics, both from a lack of experience in this activity and increasing cost of living.

Infrastructure

Region Nine (which consists of 9 counties in Southern Minnesota), has a population of roughly 232,000. New Ulm and Mankato both stand out as commercial centers for development and have been chosen as the industrial sites with the most promise for bio-based project development.

New Ulm:

It’s strategic positioning offers easy access to major highways, notably State Highway 15 and U.S. Highway 14 is roughly 29 miles away from the center point St. James. With competitive land pricing, New Ulm is particularly attractive for businesses and the New Ulm Industrial Lot near the airport, within the municipal limits, with 4.23 acres of heavy industrial designated land has been chosen as the primary industrial site for infrastructure risk scoring.

Mankato:

Mankato has the Northport Industrial Park (38 miles from St. James) with qualified I-2 and I-1 zoned industrial lots available for development, located adjacent to Highway 14 and County State Highway 41. The New Ulm Industrial lot is privately owned and is available for immediate commercial development.

Major manufacturing and production facilities are located near/within the Airport Industrial Park. The Northport Industrial Park is owned and operated by the North Mankato Port Authority Commission, with nearby land consisting mainly of privately owned land.