POET Biorefining – Hanlontown receives “Shining Star Volunteer Award”

Mason City, Iowa honored POET Biorefining – Hanlontown at an awards luncheon last week with the mayor and city council.

Mason City Mayor Eric Bookmeyer honored the plant with the “Shining Star Volunteer Award ” for the many ways they reach out to their surrounding communities.

Over the last year, the plant donated time and equipment to paint a railroad bridge, paint and clean along the city trails, and many team members were regular volunteers at the community kitchen.

In a North Iowa Today article, General Manager Kelly Hanson said, “We did not expect this honor and it certainly is not why we volunteer, but we certainly appreciate the award.”

Congratulations to the Hanlontown crew for making the plant such an important part of the surrounding area!

 

Technorati Tags: Hanlontown,POET,ethanol,volunteering,award,Mason City

POET ranked #4 of “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy”

Biofuels Digest today released its latest “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” list, and POET came out ranked #4.

It’s a ranking determined by voters with experience in bioenergy and subscribers to the publication, so it’s a special honor to be recognized by peers as a “hot” company. POET was unique in its inclusion as the top large-scale ethanol producer working with grain and cellulose.

POET reached some notable milestones over the past year in the areas of cellulosic ethanol, new products and green technology.

1. Cellulosic ethanol advancement (Project LIBERTY):

- Approved for a $105 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for Project LIBERTY construction

- Completed the first commercial-scale biomass harvest of 56,000 tons for cellulosic ethanol in Emmetsburg, Iowa and commenced the second harvest

- Built a 22-acre biomass stack yard at the Project LIBERTY site with work continuing this fall

2. Developed new products:

- Branded zein product “Inviz™,” which can be used as a gum base or in films, packaging, adhesives, coatings, glazes and more

- Branded corn oil “Voilà!™,” which is being sold to biodiesel producers. Plan to install technology to more POET plants, with a potential of enough corn oil to supply feedstock for 50 million gallons of biodiesel per year.

3. Green technology:

- Installed POET’s Total Water Recovery system to more POET plants, for a total of 18 plants today. The system has reduced overall water use by more than 650 million gallons of water per year over 2009 baseline. The company-wide average water use per gallon of ethanol is now at 2.6

- Installed a waste heat recovery system that saves energy in POET Biorefining – Caro (Mich.).

 

Technorati Tags: POET,ethanol,cellulosic,green,zein,corn oil

New President for POET

You may have seen today's announcement that Jeff Lautt was named President of POET. Lautt has been with POET since early 2005, most recently serving as the Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations. If you'd like to learn more about Jeff, check out this profile of him in Vital Magazine:

Grace Under Pressure

Jeff Lautt, Executive Vice President of Corporate Operations at POET, is known for his steady leadership and nerves of steel – traits that are essential in managing and growing the nation’s largest ethanol company.

Read the rest of the profile in Vital.

POET CEO Jeff Broin accepts Paul Dana Award

Last week, I was with POET CEO Jeff Broin when he accepted the Paul Dana Award for Excellence in Bioenergy from the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). Read the ISDA press release and watch Jeff's acceptance speech:

The Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition hosted the meeting at the Indiana Governor's residence and provided the video and this photo:

(l to r: Greg Dana, Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Joseph Kelsay, Jeff Broin, Tonya and Connor Dana).

vitalmagazineonline.com

With a fresh look and a new web address, the online component for Vital magazine is one you'll want to bookmark. It's kept up-to-date with each issue of the print version and archives all past issues.

Along with a clean, new website, the fall issue of Vital brings a look into Growth Energy's Fueling Freedom Plan and the American consumer's right to choose their fuel.

Other must-reads in this issue are "Voilá!" - POET's corn oil separation process and "First in the Wolverine State" - a profile on the very first ethanol plant in the state of Michigan, POET Biorefining – Caro.

Happy reading!

 

POET No. 2 in Biofuels Digest rankings

POET today was ranked second among more than 1,000 eligible companies in the Biofuels Digest “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy.”

Top ranking went to Solazyme (congrats!). Amyris Biotechnologies, BP Biofuels and Sapphire Energy rounded out the top five.

Thanks to Biofuels Digest and those who selected POET for this honor.

Looking back, we have had a lot of activity since last year’s rankings (we were No. 4 in ‘08-‘09).

Notable milestones for POET over that time include:

- Operating the first full year of our pilot cellulosic ethanol plant in Scotland, S.D. and using that data to drop the overall cost to produce cellulosic ethanol from $4.13 to $2.35.

- Completing a project with the city of Sioux Falls, S.D. to use landfill gas,along with a wood waste-fuel boiler, to help power POET Biorefining – Chancellor (S.D.).

- Eliminating wastewater discharge at POET Biorefining – Bingham Lake (Minn.).

- Energy Star recognition for the Combined Heat and Power system at POET Biorefining – Laddonia (Mo).

- Developing the production process for Inviz, POET’s brand of zein. This is a new co-product in ethanol production that is used for films and coatings, among other things.

Expect the next year to be just as exciting for POET. We’ve already announced some upcoming events, such as start of construction on Project LIBERTY, our first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant. There are many more developments that we’ll be able to announce to the public soon.

Technorati Tags: POET,Biofuels Digest,cellulosic ethanol,Energy Star,CHP,cob collection,landfill gas,zein,Inviz

Moving a mountain of woodchips

After months of construction, the delivery system for POET Biorefining – Chancellor’s solid waste fuel boiler is up and running.

I had the chance to check it out this week during a visit, and it’s impressive.

A large building stores a mountain of wood chips. Each day 150-300 tons of biomass are sent up a conveyor to feed the five-story tall boiler. Although the building is large, it only holds enough biomass for three days of operation.

When you combine the biomass power with methane piped in from the Sioux Falls Regional Sanitary Landfill, enough energy is produced to handle all the plant’s energy needs for steam generation. It offsets 65 percent of the total natural gas use, including that for drying the DDGS. That number will increase as more gas is generated at the landfill.

A peek inside the boiler showed some ferocious flames; my photo doesn’t do it justice. Check out a series of pictures at POET’s Flickr page.

New Biofuels Digest columnist praises POET management principles

Biofuels Digest launched a new column today from Dr. Rosalie Lober, MBA, author of Run Your Business Like a Fortune 100: 7 Principles for Boosting PROFITS. In the words of Biofuels Digest:

Today’s first column focuses on POET, which has in 2008-09 managed the remarkable feat of becoming one of the two largest ethanol producers in the country while landing in the top 10 of the Hottest 50 Companies in Bioenergy.

Read the full column here.

Follow POET on Twitter for all the news

There's a lot of news coming out of POET these days and it can be a lot for one person to keep up with. With this blog, the Project LIBERTY Blog, our press releases and news stories, our Flickr page, POET TV and Vital Magazine, how can anyone keep up?

Well, if you're on Twitter, we just made it a lot easier for you. All you have to do is follow @ethanolbyPOET on Twitter and you'll get a tweet with a link every time one of our news properties is updated. We'll also throw in other breaking news from POET and anything else that we find interesting. If there's something you would like to learn about POET just send us a tweet and we'll do our best to respond.

'Tis the season for lists

We're getting close to the end of the year and that means its time for lists. Lots of lists. There are a few that mention POET, so I thought I'd post them here.

First is from Biofuels Digest, where POET was named #4 in their list of the 50 hottest companies in bioenergy. The list was apparently compiled from more than 2,000 eligible companies.

POET made another appearance on Biofuels Digest last week when it received the 2008 Biofuels Digest Achievement Award for First Generation Ethanol. According to the site, The award was given in recognition of achieving high yields and reduced energy inputs in ethanol production through its BPX technology.

Next is the Ten Top ideas of '08 from InsideAg which lists POET and harvesting corn cobs at #8.

The Associated Press in South Dakota also put POET in their Top 10 ballot (just like last year) for the following story:

VeraSun, the nation's second-largest ethanol producer, seeks protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code while No. 1 producer POET, also based in Sioux Falls, starts talking about buying out some of its rivals. VeraSun reports it received an unsolicited buyout offer but would not name the suitor.