Chateau Lamothe owner files for bankruptcy 6A City seeks proposals for former AAA site 7A Trail will link Eagan and Burnsville 7A
JESSICA HARPER JOHN GESSNER JOHN GESSNER
dakotacountytribune.biz dakotacountytribune.biz
DATE ##, 2009 SEPTEMBER 22, 2011
VOLUME 30, NUMBER # VOLUME 32, NUMBER 30
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Pumped up about biofuel Idle 50-acre, half-million-gallon storage site to be transformed into Rosemount Clean Energies
Voters shouldn’t be cheated out of a vote on Vikings stadium just because of what happened in Hennepin County. PHIL 4A KRINKIE FORUM
by Tad Johnson DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
A family-owned, Stillwater company is undertaking a bold project to reclaim a former ammonia storage and distribution center in Rosemount and ride the wave of an alternative-energy future. The 52-year-old Yocum Oil Company embarked on the reclamation project of a 50-acre site just east of Flint Hills Resources this year and expects to have Rosemount Clean Energies significantly operational in less than three months, according to Tim Yocum, one of the company’s principals and chief manager. With about a half-million barrels worth of storage capacity in several large tanks that have been idle for some time, Rosemount Clean Energies’ project is requiring long hours, technical expertise and patience for the five-year total build-out. When it is comPhoto by Tad Johnson plete, the One of the recognizable refiner y sites when driving on that will Highway 52 in Rosemount focus is this pair of “spheres� at o n the future home of Rosemount Clean Energies.
biofuel injection blending and other clean energy products will be the only one of its kind and scale in the Upper Midwest, according to the company. “Biofuels are here to stay,� said Yocum, who is president of the Minnesota Petroleum Marketers Association. “Canada just announced a 2 percent biodiesel requirement. Minnesota is going to 10 percent next spring. This new terminal will allow greater distribution of biofuels right where crops are grown and biofuels are produced. Combine this with our refineries’ ability to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel from North Dakota and Canadian crude, and we have opened a huge channel for energy independence through local supply.� The components in some of the fuels the company will supply include corn and switchgrass. While the project intends to offer “green� energy, the work itself is “green.� Yocum said without a company like this coming in to reuse the existing tanks and infrastructure, the site might have needed significant remediation work to clean up contaminated areas. As a result of the sale, Yocum Oil and the previous owner are remediating any problem areas with direction from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The green-built, non-waste generating terminal site has the flexibility to receive and ship products in vari-
ous ways – including rail cars, trucks, tanks and pipeline. Yocum said the company also will offer an efficient mechanism to test biodiesel in the marketplace – something he said the local market previously lacked. A Yocum Oil spinoff, Command Labs, is where the testing technical expertise enters. Command Labs specializes in analyzing fuels and finding solutions to fuel problems encountered throughout the industry. “Initially, the industry struggled with the rollout of biodiesel,� Yocum said. “The ability of this terminal to customize products through injection blending ensures greater accuracy and a consistent product that takes the reliability question of fuel out of the equation.� Rosemount Clean Energies also aims to provide transloading, storage and distribution of ethanol, waste oil recycling, asphalt, No. 6 oil, propane, diesel exhaust fluid, compressed natural gas, and liquefied natural gas. “We are tremendously excited about the opportunity we have,� Yocum said. “It is supported by the strong number of calls we are receiving from people out of state.� The company has already hired workers for the reclamation project, but it also plans to expand its sales staff and make additional hires for Command Labs.
One of Minnesota’s most famous business leaders has his St. Paul mansion featured in new book. HOWARD 4A LESTRUD FINANCIAL SENSE
Entrepreneurs just starting out should be sure to segregate their personal and business credit accounts and much more. BETTER 5A BUSINESS BUREAU NEWS
Former owner of Dominick’s Pizza in Inver Grove Heights opens a new restaurant in Rosemount with his longtime pal. KARIMI 28A ABDELMAJID
See Biofuel, Page 28A
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