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Map Changes Explained

Posted: March 15, 2010 at 12:45 PM CST

The project of the week at EPM has been tracking down details for the spring Ethanol Plant Map, which is undergoing some changes this spring.

We are changing the “producing” and “not producing” categories to a combined “installed capacity” category, a change that is also being made to the database found online at www.ethanolproducer.com. There are multiple reasons for this, one being the challenge of keeping the “non producing” category accurate and current. Thus, we decided to move towards calling it “installed capacity” and including plants that we know are temporarily idled. The challenge, of course, will be identifying those that have been dismantled and removing them from the list.

We’re adding a feature to the printed map by including "proposed plants" along with the list of "plants under construction." We’ve spent the last couple of weeks tracking down updates on projects listed as proposed in our database. There are a couple of simple criteria to be on the list of proposed ethanol plants: a location must be named and the minimum capacity is 1 MMgy. However, we welcome information about all proposed projects, which we will follow and incorporate into the next plant map in the fall if a location has been named. We will be showing plants under construction in the same list as proposed plants. Only when those plants come on line will they be flipped over to the “installed” list and their capacities included in the total.

Another new feature on the spring plant map is cellulosic ethanol plants—proposed, under construction and installed. You will notice that the big list of corn ethanol plants is being clarified to say it includes all plants using a sugar/starch platform (which has been the case all along). The handful of cellulosic ethanol plants that have been on the list in recent years has been moved to its own list. Rather arbitrarily, we’ve decided upon a minimum capacity of 1 MMgy in order to be listed. While this leaves out some important demonstration projects, it also seems to be a fair number that indicates these are commercial-scale projects. Again, proposed projects won’t be listed unless a location is named. There’s a simple reason for that—we can’t put a dot on a map unless the location is known. We consider this a work in progress, and fully expect this to become a major feature in the years to come.

Take a look when you see the finished project and let us know what you think. We also rely upon readers to make corrections when errors slip through our proofreading process.

-Susanne Retka Schill