Great Plains – The Camelina Company Plans Eastern Montana Crushing and Refining Facility

Great Plains Oil & Exploration is moving ahead with plans to build an oilseed crushing facility and refinery for biodiesel production in Eastern Montana. The official location for these facilities is being finalized and will be disclosed by end of year.

“Eastern Montana was chosen as the production headquarters for Great Plains because this is the center of where the camelina crop will be located,” says company vice-president Dr. Duane Johnson, who is largely credited with bringing camelina to North America, “We have partnered with producers throughout Montana to grow camelina over the last two years and through this experience we learned that there are excellent opportunities for growth in the eastern part of the state.”

The recent interest of other biodiesel companies in the crop further validates the strategic initiative originated by Great Plains and INEOS to bring camelina to the alternative fuels market. Great Plains’ years of scientific and agronomic experience with camelina influenced its development of the vertically integrated concept, which takes camelina from seed all the way to its end use as fuel. As more people realize that sustainable low input, non-food crops are critical to the success of biofuels, Great Plains anticipates even more interest in camelina as a viable source of energy.

“We recognized the sustainability of camelina as a feedstock several years ago and have since actively pioneered its adoption throughout Montana,” says Great Plains founder Sam Huttenbauer.

Research shows the low agronomic input costs associated with camelina and its ability to grow on marginal land utilizing very little moisture make it unique in the field of alternative energy feedstocks. Camelina fits into many farming operations because it is an excellent rotational crop, is drought and frost tolerant, and requires minimal inputs.

Camelina is also unique because, unlike other crops grown for biodiesel, it is a truly sustainable feedstock that does not compete with food uses. Soybean, palm and canola oils are widely used in food production, but camelina is a non-food, high-oil energy alternative, which means it is not involved in the ‘food vs. fuel’ debate.

Governor Brian Schweitzer sees the new Great Plains facility for camelina production as a step in the right direction to place Montana at the forefront of the biodiesel fuels movement.

“Great Plains has been working to bring camelina to Montana for a decade and their hard work has paid off,” says Schweitzer. “This is an exciting investment in value-added agriculture in Montana and a great opportunity to expand camelina production through a crushing facility and biodiesel refinery.”

“Great Plains — The Camelina Company is working with Montana growers to produce fuel for America,” says Huttenbauer. “The Eastern Montana facility will take camelina grown in the state and refine it into biodiesel that will be available to Montana residents at the diesel pump.”

Great Plains, with over ten years of experience working with Camelina, is the leader in the science and agronomy of the crop and has proprietary access to the vast majority of camelina varieties – a factor which is critical to developing the highest yielding, highest oil-producing camelina seed. In addition to the new crushing facility and biodiesel refinery, Great Plains currently has an office and research station located in Big Fork and an operations office in Havre.

Great Plains has made rapid progress in its camelina expansion plans since partnering with INEOS, the world’s third largest chemical company, earlier this year. INEOS is strategically positioned to become the largest global biodiesel producer, using camelina as a sustainable, low input feedstock for their American biodiesel refineries.

Great Plains Oil and Exploration (Great Plains — The Camelina Company) is a renewable energy company founded in 2006 with the purpose of manufacturing and marketing biodiesel produced from Camelina sativa (camelina), a new low-cost feedstock. The Company is establishing a growing base and production facilities from which it will produce and supply camelina oil with its partner, one of the leading biodiesel producers in the world, INEOS Enterprises (www.ineos.com). Expansion of the camelina growing and production program will vitally contribute to the availability of alternative fuels in North America. Visit www.CamelinaCompany.com for more information.