With the grand opening of POET Biorefining – Corning in Iowa on Friday, POET became only the second company to claim an annual ethanol production capacity of over one billion gallons.

Jeff Broin, CEO of POET, said, “We’ve come a long way since we started with a one million gallon facility 20 years ago, but what really motivates us is the impact that producing one billion gallons of ethanol has on some of the most pressing issues of our day. It stimulates the economy, it improves the environment. And it actually makes our country a more secure place by reducing our need for foreign oil.”

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) attended the grand opening in Corning, along with Congressman Steve King of Iowa, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and ethanol industry representatives Matt Hartwig of the Renewable Fuels Association and Ron Lamberty from the American Coalition for Ethanol.