Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman helped officials with VeraSun Energy and others in a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony and open house Thursday for its 110 million-gallon-per year biorefinery in Albion, Nebraska.

The plant is one of 11 VeraSun ethanol production facilities currently in operation. The company has an annual production capacity of more than one billion gallons, making VeraSun one of the largest ethanol producers in the United States. The Albion plant will annually process about 39 million bushels of corn to produce 110 million gallons of ethanol and 350,000 tons of distillers grains for livestock feed.

Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dinneen congratulated VeraSun on the celebration. “Nebraska’s residents have long understood the economic, environmental and security benefits of a strong domestic ethanol industry, and their legislators have helped set the stage for ethanol and other biofuels to contribute to our nation’s energy security,” said Dinneen.