EPA recently held a ceremony and awarded Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission (MJMEUC) with an ENERGY STAR Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Award. This award was in recognition for their reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions at the POET Biorefining – Laddonia, Mo., ethanol plant.

“EPA is proud to recognize the outstanding pollution reduction and energy efficiency innovations of this project by presenting this award. The heat recovery system is contributing to a cleaner and healthier environment,” said Acting Regional Administrator William Rice.

By using a natural gas-fired turbine, about 26 percent less fuel is used at the Laddonia plant. This equates to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 31,000 tons per year.

POET CEO Jeff Broin said, “We want to thank the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission for helping POET in its mission to further reduce the environmental impacts of transportation fuel. As this partnership demonstrates, we are committed to making the production of ethanol even more efficient.”