Richardton ethanol plant running
The manager of a Richardton ethanol plant says he expects the plant will have ethanol ready to sell after the first of the year.
Mick Miller is the chief executive officer of the Red Trail Energy plant. He says it’s now up and running, after some delays to make sure everything was working.
Miller says the Red Trail plant started grinding Corn on Tuesday. He says other parts of the plant are coming online, and he expects to be ready to sell ethanol soon.
The plant uses natural gas is used to heat coal and start the ethanol-making process. The coal is brought in from a mine near Center.
The Red Trail plant expects to make about 145-thousand-gallons of ethanol a day. It’ll use an estimated 50-thousand bushels of corn and 375 tons of coal.
Miller says an official grand opening likely will be held in May, when the weather is warmer.
