EIS-0407: Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Abengoa Biorefinery Project Near Hugoton, Stevens County, Kansas

DOE’s Proposed Action is to provide federal funding to Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, LLC (Abengoa Bioenergy) to support the design, construction, and startup of a commercial-scale integrated biorefinery to be located near the city of Hugoton, Stevens County, Kansas. If DOE decides to provide federal funding, it would negotiate an agreement with Abengoa Bioenergy to provide approximately $85 million of the total anticipated cost of approximately $300 million (2008 dollars). The biorefinery would use lignocellulosic biomass (corn stover, wheat straw) as feedstock to produce ethanol and biopower (electricity) sufficient to meet the needs of the biorefinery and produce excess electricity for sale to the regional power grid. DOE also evaluates an Action Alternative, under which the biorefinery would not produce excess electricity for sale to the regional grid, and a No-Action Alternative, under which the biorefinery would not be constructed. The draft Abengoa Biorefinery Project EIS evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts from the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the biorefinery.