Rhapsody in Green

Flag flown over US Capitol in recognition of POET ethanol plant

U.S. Senator Richard Lugar was unable to attend the grand opening of POET Biorefining - Alexandria last week, but he sent his well-wishes with his executive director Gail Lowry. He also sent something else: a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol  Building in recognition of the new ethanol plant. Here's a picture of Gail just before she handed the flag to POET CEO Jeff Broin:

Gail also read a letter from Senator Lugar talking about the economic and national security benefits of ethanol in general and this plant in particular. You can read the entire letter by clicking here (pdf).

POET Biorefining - Alexandria grand opening on POET TV

As promised in the last post, the speeches from the grand opening ceremony of POET Biorefining - Alexandria have been posted to POET TV. You can also watch them here:

In addition, Jeff Swiatek of the Indianapolis Star wrote a story about our company and the opening of the plant. It's worth the read.

Landfill gas press conference on POET TV

As mentioned in the previous post, we announced a partnership with the City of Sioux Falls Regional Landfill yesterday that we would be using their landfill gas to power our ethanol plant. The speeches from that press conference are now on POET TV and can also be viewed here:

If you'd like the text version of Jeff Lautt's speech, you can find it here. Photos from the event will soon be available on our flickr page.

Using Renewable Energy to Make Renewable Energy

An ethanol plant completely powered by waste? It's possible that POET Biorefining - Chancellor could displace 100 percent of its natural gas usage with renewable energy.

Late last year we announced the construction of a solid waste fuel boiler that will burn wood waste that would otherwise have been destined for local landfills. The energy from the boiler will displace up to 60 percent of the plant's natural gas usage.

Yesterday, we announced a partnership with the Sioux Falls Area Regional Landfill that will see that same facility near Chancellor use methane from the landfill to displace even more natural gas. The combination of the two alternative energy technologies will displace at least 90 percent of the plant's natural gas usage and potentially all of it.

Here's a schematic of the facility that explains the process:

As Jeff Lautt, EVP of Corporate Operations for POET, said in his speech:

As renewable energy has increased in America, defenders of the status quo have become fond of pointing out that the production of renewable energy requires fossil fuels. But, should the lack of renewable energy be a reason to not produce renewable energy? Today, most ethanol production facilities are dependent on fossil fuels, just like our country. But as the renewable economy grows, these same facilities will be able to draw their power from renewable sources, like we’re doing in Chancellor.

Alexandria Grand Opening Next Week

Next week, POET will open its 23rd ethanol production facility in Alexandria, Ind. The facility will be the second plant opened in the state of Indiana where one more is under construction. The grand opening is scheduled for April 17 and complete details can be found in a release on our web site.

Hoosier Ag Today interviewed Dave Hudak, the general manager of the facility, and posted it on their web site. You can also listen to the interview here:

Ethanol plant expansion completed

Around 12 months ago, construction started on an expansion of POET Biorefining - Chancellor that would see its ethanol production capacity double to 100 million gallons per year. The expansion was completed last week and it took the plant less than 24 hours to reach its new nameplate capacity.

Construction on a solid waste fuel boiler (pictured here) continues at the site and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Once it is done, the solid waste fuel boiler will replace up to 60 percent of the plant's natural gas usage. For more information on the boiler, see this post announcing the project last year.

The first load of grain

The next POET plant to come online will be POET Biorefining - Alexandria (Ind.). It will start producing ethanol early next quarter. They received their first test load of grain yesterday and the system ran smoothly. Full grain receiving will begin in March when they begin collecting enough grain to produce 65 million gallons of ethanol per year.

Dave Lawler of Lawler Trucking drives the first load of corn into the grains receiving area of the plant.

The first load of corn emptying out of the truck and into the plant.

From L to R: POET Biorefining - Alexandria Commodity Assistant Mike McCarty and Commodity  Supervisor Dean Thurston, Yorkton farmer Dale Rinker whose load of corn was the first into the facility, and POET Biorefining - Alexandria Commodity Assistant Jaime Yanez.

Biomass powered ethanol plant featured on local TV

Last November, POET announced that an expansion of our Chancellor, S.D. ethanol production facility would include a solid waste fuel boiler. The biomass boiler will replace more than half of the expanded plant's natural gas usage. Last night, a local TV station covered the announcement in more depth. A transcript is available on their web site, but I've posted the piece here:

Leipsic grand opening speeches

Recently, we celebrated the grand opening of POET Biorefining - Leipsic, a 60 million gallon ethanol production facility in Northwest Ohio. A crowd of over 3,000 people attended the event and the line for tours of the plant stretched outside the door of the grains building. The crowd heard some excellent speeches from that you can see on POET TV. We've also posted them here:

Four local TV stations have posted their coverage of the event online: WTOL Toledo, the Ohio News Network, WNWO Toledo and Fox News Toledo. The print news coverage is linked to from our web site and more photos have been posted to Flickr.

POET Biorefining - Leipsic opens its doors

A crowd of more than 3,000 people showed up in Northwest Ohio for the grand opening of POET Biorefining - Leipsic. Pictured here is Ohio Governor Ted Strickland receiving a standing ovation from the crowd for his support of the ethanol industry in the state.

The Renewable Fuels Association said nice things to say about the event. Pictures are being posted here. Video is coming early tomorrow.

Opening the first ethanol plant in Ohio

We're in Leipsic, Ohio today to open the first ethanol plant in the Buckeye state. When I arrived at the site this morning, two hours before the program was scheduled to start, there was already a growing group of people in the audience. Here's a photo of the facility just as the sun was coming out from behind the clouds.
I'll post a recap later in the day along with video from the event so stay tuned.

POET Glenville in the news

MinnPost.com was at POET Biorefining - Glenville East late last year to film some video of plant employees for a series this week on ethanol. The first story, which includes a nice side-bar piece on the origins of POET, can be found here. With their permission, we posted the video to POET TV and here:

The video features plant general manager Rick Mummert and Quality Manager Josh Karaus talking about the plant and how they make ethanol. POET Biorefining - Glenville East produces 42 million gallons of ethanol per year from 16 million bushels of corn. Construction will start soon on POET Biorefining - Glenville West, a 60 million gallon ethanol production facility that will be located just across the street from the existing facility.

For those unfamiliar with MinnPost.com, they are an online, non-profit news source that launched in November. PRWeek has the details.

Talking about the solid waste fuel boiler

We brought the video camera to Chancellor for the announcement of the solid waste fuel boiler last week and just got around to posting the speeches. The videos of four speakers can be found here. Representing the corporate office of POET is James Moe, COO of POET Design & Construction and POET Plant Management:

There was also an interesting blog post on the announcement from After Gutenberg. The post focuses on the improvement to the Chancellor plant's EROEI (Energy Returned on Energy Invested) and the kudos from a prominent blogger are appreciated. The installation of a solid waste fuel boiler would certainly improve the EROEI, but it also reveals the flaw in using that measure to judge energy production. While many critics of ethanol are basing their calculations on a snapshot, and often that snapshot was taken years ago, the production of ethanol from corn is relentlessly improving its efficiency. Critics often fail to factor in the incremental increases in efficiency or the big increases like a solid waste fuel boiler.

But the flaws with EROEI are even deeper than calculation errors. It is essentially another form of the net energy balance equation that David Pimentel invented for critiquing ethanol. For an explanation of why that is a flawed argument, see Dr. Bruce Dale's paper Thinking clearly about biofuels: ending the irrelevant 'net energy' debate and developing better performance metrics for alternative fuels that ran in the September, 2007 issue of Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. As Dale explains, the primary problem with the argument is that it treats all energy sources the same when that is not the case:

If all megajoules (MJ) were equal, then energy markets would reflect that fact. But the energy markets do no such thing. At current prices, an MJ (or Btu) of natural gas is worth about 3.5 times an MJ of coal, and an MJ of petroleum is worth more than five times an MJ of coal. An MJ of electricity is worth about 12 times an MJ of the coal raw material from which electricity is frequently generated. Clearly, all MJ are not created equal.

The other curious part of this debate is that opponents of ethanol never talk about the net energy balance of other liquid transportation fuels, like gasoline. Again according to Dale, gasoline is a net energy loss of 18 percent and ethanol is a gain of 27 percent. Who has the net energy problem?

Waste powered ethanol plant

Yesterday, I was at POET Biorefining - Chancellor, an ethanol production facility located about 30 miles from POET's corporate headquarters in Sioux Falls, S.D. We were there to announce the installation of a solid waste fuel boiler that will replace half of the expanded plant's natural gas usage with power from burning waste wood. The installation is part of an expansion that will double the plant's ethanol production capacity to 100 million gallons per year.

(waste wood that will be used as a power source at POET Biorefining - Chancellor).

There was a substantial amount of press coverage and we'll post links to all on our web site, but I thought I'd mention a few here. Two local TV news stations attended the event and posted the video coverage on their web sites: KSFY and KTIV. The story was also picked up by Biopact, a biofuels blog that I've been reading for years. There are photos of the speakers on Flickr and speeches will be posted on POET TV soon.

POET on Forecast Earth

Tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Central Time, POET will be featured on the Weather Channel’s special series, Forecast Earth. The program will focus on the economic impact that the POET ethanol production facility near Coon Rapids, Iowa has had on the rural town. As a preview, they've posted a video of Martha Stout, Lab Manager at the facility, explaining how ethanol is made.

Larry Ward, VP of Project Development for POET, was interviewed for the Forecast Earth special in the administration building of the Coon Rapids plant.

Under construction in Chancellor

I went to Chancellor yesterday to see how the expansion of POET Biorefining - Chancellor is coming. The production facility in Chancellor was completed in 2003 with a production capacity of 40 million gallon per year. Ground was broken on the expansion in March and as you can see, construction is progressing quite nicely.

As of now, the expansion, which will increase the production capacity to 100 million gallons per year, is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2008. For more pictures of the plant, visit our Flickr page.

The city of Chancellor has a population of just over 300 people, so an ethanol plant that employs 50 people plays a huge role in the local economy. As just one example, I joined General Manager Rick Serie for lunch at the Chancellor Cafe. As you can see from the photo, the cafe is a fairly new building. It opened in 2002 when the plant was originally under construction. The homemade pie is worth the trip alone.

Governor Daniels visits POET plant in Portland

Today, POET Biorefining - Portland, which started grinding corn last week, produced their first load of ethanol. Normally, that would be the biggest news at a new production facility but today that achievement was overshadowed by a visit from Governor Mitch Daniels.

The Governor arrived on his Harley Davidson motorcycle and received a tour of the facility from General Manager Greg Noble and Technical Manager Matt Clamme. The discussion centered around ethanol production in the Hooiser state, the jobs it has created, the need for more retail availability of the product and POET's work on cellulosic ethanol.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is pictured here on the left with POET Biorefining - Portland General Manager Greg Noble. Click here for more photos of the visit.

Reaction to the ethanol plant in Portland

Last week, we received a fantastic reception from the Hoosier state during the grand opening event for our newest plant in Portland, Ind. We are glad to be there and the community is genuinely glad to have us.

Several comments from the area found their way into media reports from the Friday event. An article in the Muncie Star-Press quoted several people in the area:

"This is great," Jay County resident Ralph May said while enjoying the festivities. "This is one of the best things that has happened to our city and our state in a long time. We've got something good going here."

Robert Durbin, a retired electrician from Decatur, agreed. "It's amazing that they can take a product we grow and turn it into a useful resource and not destroy our atmosphere, not discharge anything into the air or into the streams," he said. "I'm glad they are able to do this." 

Jim Bob McEwen, a Jay County farmer, said not only is the new facility great for the community and the state, "I think people who were against it in the beginning will be more welcoming as they realize it's environmentally friendly and not near as bad as they feared."

Senator Richard Lugar spoke at the event and has some great things to say about the plant and the ethanol industry as a whole. Gary Truitt at Hoosier Ag Today spoke to Senator Lugar and posted the interview here. Gary also posted an interview with Jeff Broin.

The Bluffton News-Banner interviewed POET Biorefining - Portland's maintenance manager Jeff Maddox of Montpelier, who said: I never expected the goose that laid the golden egg to land in my lap at my age.

Technorati Tags: POET, ethanol, Indiana, Portland, Lugar, Media

Honoring an Indy Driver in Portland

Dr. Tonya Bergeson-Dana, wife of the late Paul Dana, and their 9-month old son, Paul Conor (pictured here), were in attendance for the grand opening of POET Biorefining - Portland. Jeff Broin, CEO of POET, acknowledged her and her late husband in his speech:

For the last few years, I’ve been traveling to Indiana each May to attend this little racing event you have down the road called the Indianapolis 500. 

We’ve been attending the race thanks to a visionary Indy driver who was genuinely concerned about our nation’s addiction to foreign energy. This man desperately wanted to do something about it so he boldly proposed that the Indy Car series step up to the plate and set an example for the rest of the country by completely eliminating its need for foreign oil. 

He knew that ethanol was a high performance fuel, environmentally friendly, and was produced right here in America’s heartland. He then, almost single-handedly, convinced the Indy Car Series and the ethanol industry to partner. Now today, the Indy Car Series is setting an example for the rest of the country by running on 100% ethanol. 

Sadly, the visionary who initiated this didn’t get to see for himself what he worked so hard to accomplish; as his life was tragically cut short while racing last year. His name was Paul Dana. 

I am so thankful for what Paul did. He was a great driver, a great ambassador for ethanol, but most importantly a wonderful human being. Today, we are honored that Paul’s wife, Dr. Tonya Bergeson-Dana and their 9-month old son, Paul Conor would be with us to help us celebrate this event. Tonya, would you please stand? (Applause). 

Tonya, thank you and your late husband for all you have done and thank you for being here today. Paul was someone who truly had that power to inspire.

POET is one of the primary sponsors of the #17 Ethanol Indy Car now driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay. It was an honor to have Tonya in the crowd today.

Senator Lugar speaking at POET ground breaking

U.S. Senator Richard Lugar spoke at the grand opening ceremony for POET Biorefining - Portland. An early estimate of the crowd is around 3,000 people.

Touring the new ethanol production facility

I snapped a photo of the first people in line for tours of POET Biorefining - Portland. In the background is the stage and the screens for the speaking program.

On the ground in Portland

Today is the grand opening event for POET Biorefining - Portland. U.S. Senator Richard Lugar will be speaking to a crowd expected to be in the thousands. The festivities include a fly-over from the Vanguard Squadron, the world's only 100 percent ethanol-powered aerobatic fleet. Here's a picture of two of the planes at the Portland Municipal Airport where they are preparing for takeoff.

We'll try to post more pictures and updates throughout the day.

Chatting with the Portland GM

In one week, POET Biorefining - Portland will hold a grand opening ceremony to celebrate the beginning of operations at their facility. When added to existing ethanol production capacity, Portland will put POET at more than 1.1 billion gallons annually. For a photo, click here.

With a new facility comes a new general manager to the POET family. This post contains an interview with Greg Noble, the general manager of POET Biorefining - Portland.

In the interview, Greg talks about one of the unique features of the facility, which is located next to a quarry. Up until now, that quarry pumped out water in order to continue its excavation activities and discharged it into a local stream. Now, that water will be diverted to POET and fulfill 100 percent of the production facility's water needs. In order to accommodate the quarry water, POET constructed a 10 million gallon retention pond (pictured here in the foreground) that stores the water so the sediment can settle out before it is utilized in the plant. By using water that was previously discharge, POET Biorefining - Portland leaves more water for other commercial and residential uses in the community.

Here's the interview with Greg Noble:

Breaking Indiana Ground

Today we were in North Manchester, Ind. celebrating the start of construction at our third ethanol plant in the state. We held the ceremony on the beautiful campus of Manchester College followed by a ground breaking at the site three miles south of town. For pictures, see our Flickr page. Pictured here is Larry Ward, Vice President for Project Development for POET.

POET Biorefining - North Manchester will produce 65 million gallons of ethanol from 21 million bushels of locally-grown corn. As you can read from the press release, it will incorporate all the technological advances that POET has made from its more than 30 ethanol plant construction projects.

Approximately 14 months from today, North Manchester will be home to a new ethanol production facility.

Pictures from Laddonia

Chuck Zimmerman drove past POET Biorefining - Laddonia yesterday morning on his way to one of the many conferences that he covers for AgWired. He posted some pictures on the blog. Laddonia is one of 20 POET Biorefining ethanol production facilities that are located in five states across the Midwest and one of two in the state of Missouri. The facility produces about 48 million gallons of ethanol per year and employs 42 people.

For some recent news about POET Biorefining - Laddonia, read an article from Missouri Farmer Today on their donation of DDGS to Cattle Producers in Southwest Missouri.

Big Stone leaves little footprint

POET Biorefining - Big Stone recently completed an expansion that took the facility from an annual nameplate construction capacity of 40 million to 75 million gallons of ethanol per year. The facility had been producing nearly 50 million gallons per year, or almost 20 percent above its nameplate capacity.

The expansion of Big Stone puts the total annual production capacity of the 20 POET Biorefining plants at 1.045 billion gallons of ethanol per year. The six plants in South Dakota produce just over 310 million gallons per year.

What makes POET Biorefining - Big Stone particularly interesting is the subject of an article in the July issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine. The POET facility is located a half mile from the Big Stone Power Plant (pictured here) and uses steam from that plant to operate its evaporators and distillers. That leads to a 50 percent decrease in natural gas usage in comparison to similar ethanol plants. POET Biorefining - Big Stone also gets 85 percent of its water from the power plant's retention ponds.

With natural gas usage 50 percent below the norm and only 15 percent of its water coming from an area township, what you have is a big facility with a small environmental footprint.

The biorefiner and the cowman should be friends

On a few recent occasions, cattlemen have voiced their displeasure with the ethanol industry over the rising price of corn. But a couple of POET Biorefining facilities didn't let those words prevent them from being good neighbors to their local cattle producers.

The two Missouri plants in Laddonia and Macon joined with Mid Missouri Energy in Malta Bend and donated 60 tons of dried distillers grains (DDGS) to cattle producers that have had bad luck with the weather. The DDGS from POET were premium Dakota Gold Enhanced Nutrition Distillers Products™ (pictured). When the group of farmers traveled to the Laddonia facility to express their appreciation, General Manager Robin Venn gave them a tour. You can read the whole story in the online version of Missouri Farmer Today here.