CHS Inc. announced on Sept. 11 that it will serve as the exclusive off-take company for urea fertilizer produced by the Summit Texas Clean Energy Project LLC (TCEP) plant at Penwell, Texas. CHS will also be a minor investor in the project, which is anticipated to begin construction this fall. The TCEP plant is expected to generate up to 700,000 st/y of urea.
Cheryl Schmura, CHS vice president, crop nutrients, said CHS was selected for the contract because of its tight link to local retailers and growers, market strength, and logistical expertise, including rail and truck capabilities to move high tonnage safely and efficiently. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., CHS is the nation’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, and is among the largest U.S. importers of agricultural grade urea.
"The ability to source high-quality, domestically produced urea will help enhance and streamline our operations while providing consistent supply to customers throughout the region," said Schmura. "As a farmer-owned cooperative, CHS is committed to increasing value for our owners and customers through partnerships that optimize our supply chain efficiencies and that fit our business aspiration of global commodities expansion.”
The TCEP plant is a “NowGen” Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle facility that will incorporate carbon capture and storage technology in a first-of-its-kind commercial clean coal power plant. Developed by Seattle-based Summit Power Group, the TCEP plant received a $450 million award in 2010 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative program.
The 400 megawatt facility will capture 90 percent of its carbon dioxide, or approximately 3 million tons of CO2 per year, which will be used for enhanced oil recovery in the West Texas Permian Basin. The plant’s location at Penwell is about 15 miles west of Odessa, Texas.