Nebraska Public Power District's 36 turbines in Ainsworth have a long reach: 16 percent, or 10 megawatts, of their power will be sold to Jacksonville Electric Authority in Jacksonville, Fla.

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his is the greatest thing that's happened to rural economic development since the government programs in the 1930s."
   So says Steve Wagner, vice president, energy process systems, for Colorado-based Merrick & Company, a design, engineering and consulting firm, when asked about the potential for alternative energy projects in the Central Plains of the U.S.
   Overlay a map of average wind velocities with maps of corn production, biomass, geothermal and other geological resources, and it becomes apparent how strong the current and potential portfolios of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma are and could be.
   Ethanol leads the way, with total national capacity (including plants under construction or expansion) now breaching 6 billion gallons (22.7 million l.) per year. Wagner says it could be a lot more, as could the federal alternative fuel goal.
   "The 7.5 billion gallons a year mandated by the federal government is trivial," he says. "There's no reason it can't be 20 billion gallons — the USDA will tell you it could be 40 to 50 billion. People say ethanol will get large enough to drive up the price of corn. But they're actually upgrading [the value of] that feedstock by putting it through an ethanol plant. And there's no lack of land and capital, or ability of farmers or growers to support that whole industry."
   Wagner's firm is consulting with the USDA on loan programs for renewable energy projects, looking at both technical and financial feasibilities. The conditions for the industry are good.
   "Take a look at these plants," he says of the typical 40-million-gallons-per-year ethanol plant. "They pay out in about a year and a half. At today's price of corn, they can do it all day long and make money at $1.20 a gallon. It's the lowest-cost stock in our motor fuel pool today. And it's going to continue to grow, especially with $60-a-barrel crude."
   Chances are it will grow in the Central Plains.
   "Many of the states now have tax incentives for ethanol plants, and producing it from cereal grains in their states," Wagner continues. "Any state in the Corn Belt is very cooperative in the permitting and assistance in developing a project, particularly farmer-owned."
   The biggest issue is locating too near the populace, says Wagner, citing a case in northeastern Colorado where gung-ho support for a plant five years ago had evolved along with encroaching housing to outright hostility to the plant last year. As with other industries, therefore, it behooves communities and states to set aside the land for industrial development. There are also other location issues for the ethanol industry that stand the Central Plains in good stead.
   "One requirement is rail," he says. "You need it in that part of the country, to ship distillers grains and ethanol product, and for the possibility of bringing in railed corn in the event it becomes a corn-deficit area or there's a bad harvest. You need enough land and area for wastewater treatment, holding ponds and processed waters, evaporation ponds, as well as a supply of nominal-purity groundwater. One advantage of particular locations is proximity of feeding and finishing operations, because you can then move it wet, 30 to 50 miles [48 to 80 km.] from the plant." Distillers grain is considered of higher nutritional value than the dried variety.
   But the chief location criterion to take into account is that very distance.
   "The first thing you don't want to do is co-locate a 40-million gallon plant within 50 or 60 miles [80 to 97 km.] of another one, because you'll be competing for the feedstock," says Wagner, citing his rule of thumb: 100 miles (161 km.) or more.
   At the same time, sometimes proximity isn't such a bad thing. In September, the towns of Adams and Auburn, Neb., received ethanol plan investments of $80 million and $85 million, respectively, and developer Jack Alderman said economies of scale would be a plus.
   "By developing a plant 50 miles from our original plant in Adams, we will be able to gain efficiencies on plant management, grain purchasing, sales, transportation, and other factors," he said at the Auburn announcement.