Guest Column: Support investments in South Dakota’s ethanol industry

Support investments in South Dakota’s ethanol industry
By: Walt Wendland

Each year, Ringneck Energy purchases 27.5 million bushels of corn to produce 80 million gallons of ethanol. In addition to supporting a number of jobs in the Onida community, our facility is an important part of the overall agricultural economy that remains so critical to the region. Our company, along with dozens of ethanol plants across South Dakota, are eager to continue contributing to the success of agriculture and economic development.

Earlier this month, our facility hosted a stakeholder education forum to explain the ‘why’ behind Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon capture and sequestration project and how it will benefit the ethanol industry, farmers, and local communities. As I walked with groups through the plant, grain trucks rolled in one after another, and the employees worked tirelessly to assist them and keep the plant operating smoothly. I believe most people in the area and across the state understand the need to keep ethanol viable in the coming decades.

The last few years have had their ups and downs, but the ethanol industry is ultimately responsible for purchasing about half of the state’s corn crop. Nobody wants to imagine what would happen if ethanol plants could no longer sustain that buying power and how that would adversely impact commodity prices and land values.

To avoid that scenario, Ringneck Energy has partnered with Summit Carbon Solutions to strengthen the ethanol industry in the coming years and continue serving as a strong purchaser of corn. With the growth of electric vehicles and events abroad over which we have no control, it has become apparent that ethanol must adapt or be left behind. Our collaboration with Summit will enable our plant to capture, transport, and permanently store CO2, resulting in a low-carbon biofuel that we can sell for a premium while also keeping a robust corn market available for our farmers.

Ethanol plants, just like Ringneck, are working day in and day out to find their place in this low-carbon world. Carbon capture and storage technology will help us at Ringneck find the highest-value marketplace for our ethanol and keep our plant open when others may close. In fact, if this project is successful, ethanol could become a net-zero fuel within a decade.

The staff at Ringneck Energy, along with myself, hope South Dakotans will come to understand the need for this project. The truth of the matter is that low-carbon standards offer two realities for ethanol and agriculture. We can either view this as an opportunity to grow our profits and protect corn markets or allow these standards to mark the decline of our core industries.

Regardless of our choice, low-carbon markets will continue to expand until they are status-quo. Please join Ringneck Energy in supporting Summit and our initiative to preserve the ethanol industry.