New South Dakota Oil Refinery One Step Closer to Reality
First in America Since 1976
Voters have said yes to a zoning ordinance that would result in construction of the nation’s newest oil refinery in over 30 years.
The highly contentious issue has pitted neighbor against neighbor in Union County, SD for months after Hyperion Energy first applied for a zoning permit to build the refinery.
Elk Point, SD city officials, quoted in the Sioux City Journal, were elated over the vote, saying it could bring thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars into the farming community.
$10 Billion Project
Hyperion plans to use 3,292 acres of farm land to build what Hyperion claimed would be a “green” energy center, the worlds cleanest, at a cost of $10 billion
The facility would process 400,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands crude a day, turning it into what the company says is low-sulfur gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, in addition to an IGCC (integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) power plant.
Read below, under “Posts Related to Oil and the Environment“, for an article I wrote last year on the tar sands, and a podcast interview with Liz Moore on her run-in with Syncrude.
At stake, according to company and local officials, will be 4,500 construction jobs, and over 1,800 permanent full time employees.
Opposition Unbowed
Opponents of the plan vow to do anything possible to stop the plant from becoming reality. The “not in my back yard” crowd cites health issues from pollution and other troubles the refinery would bring to their neighborhoods.
While the zoning issue is a big step, the company now has to submit a series of applications to local, state and federal agencies before construction an begin.
Opponents say they have strategies that will slow or delay the permit processes.
Hyperion says it plans to break ground in 2010.
Posts Related to Oil and the Environment:
- Podcast Interview with Liz Moore, who documented the Alberta Tar Sands project and was not allowed to publish pictures depicting damage to the local environment on her website. The link to my introductory story is here with pictures and links to the Syncrude project. Here is my interview with Liz.
- Canada Unleashes First Carbon Tax in N. America
- Sorry Bush, Voters Think Investment in Renewable Energy is the Best Option
- Ship By Rail, Reduce Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions By More Than 12 Million Tons
Image Credit: www.ktiv.com/Images/ hyperion-resources-logo.jpg
[...] 1976. Plans to build one in South Dakota are meeting resistance, but it will apparently happen. New South Dakota Oil Refinery One Step Closer to Reality : Gas 2.0 I’m not too versed in economics, but hopefully getting that built will provide some relief. I [...]
[...] if any are being built. You should have…then you would have saved yourself the typing…. New South Dakota Oil Refinery One Step Closer to Reality : Gas 2.0 Why do you think there aren’t more refineries being built? __________________ LIBERALISM The [...]
sitting around whining about problems but then shooting down all the plans that others are coming up with is an all too common trend now…
we’re extremely dependent on other countries for this oil and need to do something about it.
high oil prices is what’s leading to high food costs.
so at least in a few years when the prices have gone up they may slow or come back down a bit with this refinery being built. i dont see any other major solutions to come anytime soon, but we’ll see.
yes we should build at least 3 new heavy crude refineries in this country,people are the problem,those that do not want to build refineries or drill for oil ,use the most gas and electric,i.e.al gore,
I want to know if the oil has a sale price yet, and/or when will it be ready. I’m looking to spend a million on this project. Please respond ASAP
Thank you,
Cyrill Greene,CEO
Emerald Luxe
Questions:
Is the Missouri River deep enough for the barge traffic?
Where is Hyperion planning to get water for their cooling towers.
If a refinery has 12 cooling units (160,000 barrels a day. They are planning 400,000 barrels a day or 30 cooling units for production. !2,000,000 gallons a day for cooling. Where is the water to cool the units.
They will need electrical sub stations for electricity, where will they get the power from.
Special waste produce from the refinery, where will they dump the loads. A guess at 150 to 300 20 yarders of waste a year.
Rail to transport and river to transport by products like coke, sulfur, alky, and many others.
I am a Canadian who is happy the new refineries that are being built in the USA. Canadians do not deserve the profits from their oil. The gutless Canadians tolerate their Government giving away all natural resources. Raw logs have been going to Japan for years and now we shut down sawmills, why not give away the oil to be refined in the USA? Canada needs a violent revolution against its American controlled government but it will never happen so….come and get it America.
should of been built in Sarnia ON. CANADA
should of been build in SARNIA, ONTARIO! what comes from canada should stay in canada.
“If a refinery has 12 cooling units (160,000 barrels a day. They are planning 400,000 barrels a day or 30 cooling units for production. !2,000,000 gallons a day for cooling. Where is the water to cool the units”
Ummmm cooling water is recycled. Not discharged. Im sure that water is lost in the form of vapor as it tumbles down through the cooling tower but it will be nowhere 2,000,000 gallons.
If the refineries were to discharge the cooling water instead of recycling it, everytime they had a leak in one of their heat exchanger bundles they would be dumping product into the river/lake (wherever they are getting their water).