Firefighters Battle Explosion and Fire Monday Night at Koda Energy

Shakopee firefighters responded to an explosion and fire at the Koda Energy Facility near  Monday night, according to fire officials.

Firefighters responded to the scene at the Koda Energy Facility at 975 3rd Ave. W. in Shakopee at about 7:30 p.m.

The incident occured in and was contained to the fuel metering bin on the site, Shakopee Fire Capt. Tom Pitschneider said.

"It is unknown at this time what caused the explosion and fire but there was an ignition source that ignited a small dust explosion in the bin leading to the material in the bin catching fire," he said.  

This bin is designed with blow-out panels which allow the release of pressure to minimize damage to the bin. Firefighters assisted in cooling the material in the bin while Koda worked to unload the material from the bin, Pitschneider said. There were no injuries to firefighters or Koda Energy staff.

Koda Energy is a joint venture between the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) and Rahr Malting of Shakopee. Considerably cleaner than a coal plant and considered CO2 neutral, this combined heat and power plant is the only facility in the United States which burns exclusively natural, non-manmade materials, according to information on the SMSC website.

The burning of byproducts from malting and food processing along with raw materials like wood chips, biosolids, and dry grasses is used to generate electricity and thermal energy at the facility.

Construction on Koda Energy began shortly after the September 13, 2007, groundbreaking. The facility began generating electricity in March 2009 and became fully operational in late May 2009, according to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community website.

Fox Twin Cities has video of the scene Monday night. 

Follow Shakopee Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter