Dear Neighbor:
I am writing to let you know about the work coming up at Koda Energy over the next several months to help get our facility back in operation. As you know, we suspended operations on April 25 due to a fire on our property.
First, I want to apologize for any inconvenience that incident might have caused you and your family. The cause of the fire remains undetermined.
Koda Energy and our owners – Rahr Corporation and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community – take pride in our work and our presence in the community. We want our neighbors to feel safe and informed about who we are and what we do.
Therefore, we want you to be among the first to know about our plans for the coming months and years. Starting Thursday, July 18, demolition of our current buildings will begin. Construction will follow and is expected to conclude in November 2013. Following testing, the facility is expected to be fully operational by the beginning of 2014.
New design and facility
While we had the option to reconstruct the facility following our previous design, we chose a
new horizontal system which will enhance safety, increase reliability, reduce emissions, and improve aesthetics. It will feature a lower-profile, two-story unloading and storage building connected to the existing fuel processing facility. Its benefits include:
• Improved safety
• Reduced particulate emissions by 20%
• Increased reliability
• More efficient fuel unloading
The plans do not call for an expansion or increase in output. The facility will continue to provide environmentally fiiendly biomass energy for Xcel Energy as well as Rahr Corporation, which uses the residual heat from electricity generation in its malting process. We will also continue to bum a blend of agricultural and plant seed byproducts, such as wood chips, oat hulls, malt byproducts, sawdust, and ground-up wood pallets. As always, no hazardous materials will be
kept on site.
Local contractor selected for project
Greystone Construction of Shakopee will be the project manager on the Koda Energy facility. The $6.77 million project will create 60 jobs. Koda Energy itself employs 18 people, all of whom are working full-time to support the rebuilding efforts.
If you have any questions, please contact Rachael Taylor at 952-641-3611. Thank you again for your understanding.
Stacy A. Cook
Vice President and General Manager
Koda Energy LLC
