The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Rahr Malting formed the Koda Energy joint partnership in 2006 to build and operate an innovative combined heat and power plant. Koda Energy is one of several SMSC energy initiatives currently underway. Located approximately seven miles from the SMSC on the Rahr Malting campus in Shakopee, MN, the facility will generate electricity and heat by burning agricultural byproducts and grown energy crops. Rahr Malting is one of the world's largest producers of malt and brewing supplies. The project gets its name from the word “Koda” which means "friend" in the Dakota Language.

Koda Energy is environmentally friendly, considerably cleaner than a coal plant, and considered CO2 neutral. This biomass energy generation project will some day be able to provide energy for much of the SMSC needs. Electrical power generated by the facility will be used by Koda Energy and sold onto the grid initially. Electric power generated is expected to average 18,130 kW (gross), with net power generated at approximately 19.5 kW. Rahr Malting will use waste heat from the generation in their malting process.

Construction on Koda Energy began shortly after the September 13, 2007, groundbreaking. Test firing in the fall of 2008 will lead to full operational status by December 2008.

Koda Energy: The Process
Waste from malting and food processing will be used primarily to generate electricity. Other raw materials like wood chips, biosolids, and switchgrass will also be burned in Koda. Agreements are already in place between Koda Energy and General Mills which will provide oat hulls from the processing of cereals like Cheerios from their Coon Rapids facility. Other contracts for additional raw materials are currently being negotiated.

The specific fuel mix burned in Koda will be a blend of materials from the individual silos to maintain a consistent heat output and limit emissions. Rahr Malting will blow its barley dust and other waste material from the malting process to the fuel storage site. Fuel from the storage silos is moved using a drag conveyor to hammer mills that reduce the particle size to a fine dust. The dust-sized fuel particles are then blown into the boiler where they instantly ignite to optimize heat production while limiting emissions in a process designed to capture heat that otherwise would be wasted. Heat from the boiler generates steam that powers several steam turbines to generate electricity. A glycol loop carries the captured heat to Rahr Malting to meet their needs.

There will be very little remaining solid waste in the form of non-toxic ash to fill landfills or use in agricultural processes or products. The biomass to energy process will produce about one ton of wood ash per hour which is useful as a soil amendment for cropland, for composting, or for remediation of contaminated soil. Air emissions will be low and will be closely monitored at all times.

Native Prairie Plants as Potential Fuel
The SMSC is exploring options for burning native prairie plants and WRF biosolids in the Koda facility. This facility has the potential to be an important regional source driving a conversion of marginal cropland to perennial grassland cover/energy crop. This would reduce agricultural run-off, create wildlife habitat, and be an important biofuel source. The SMSC is currently conducting agronomical research on energy crops. (See Prairie Restoration) This research is the first of its kind at a functional scale to determine optimal plant mixtures and actual output of native prairie plants (tons/acre).

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community sees Koda and the associated energy crop research as a very important tool for future self-sufficiency and sustainability. The SMSC is at the forefront of this technology in hopes that this work will benefit other tribes in years to come, especially tribes with a large land base. Producing energy from crops will create jobs, fuel self-sufficiency, and support sovereignty.

Biomass fuels are one of the largest sources of renewable energy. Purpose grown energy crops can sequester carbon in their root system thus lowering overall atmospheric carbon. There is no net gain of carbon dioxide (the major greenhouse gas) to the environment. Unlike coal burning generators, no mercury is released into the environment. The $60 million construction project has created new jobs with an annual payroll of $750,000 per year. Each year $6 million will be spent in the local area for biomass purchases. Another benefit is reduced soil erosion and carbon sequestration by dedicated energy crops.