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 up to $71 million, subject to annual appropriations, of the total anticipated cost of approximately $685 million (2009 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 Final Abengoa Biorefinery Project EIS evaluates the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental impacts from the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the biorefinery. DOE encourages public participation in the NEPA process. In preparing this Final EIS, DOE considered comments on the Draft EIS received by letter, and oral and written comments given at a public hearing in Hugoton, Kansas, and revised the EIS as appropriate.