Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc., has finalized its purchase of land from the Aurora Cooperative in Aurora, Neb. to build a 220 million gallon per year ethanol plant. The site is adjacent to an existing 50 million gallon ethanol facility operated by Nebraska Energy, LLC., of which Aventine is a majority partner/owner. Aventine has also announced that it will be …
VeraSun in Iowa
Hartley, Iowa, has been selected as the site for VeraSun’s new 110-million-gallon-per-year ethanol production facility in northwestern Iowa. According to a company release, construction of the plant, planned to begin later this year, will take approximately 16 months. When completed, the plant will process more than 39 million bushels of corn annually and employ approximately 50 skilled workers. VeraSun expects …
Midwest Ethanol Moves Into Iowa
Directly on the heels of last week’s groundbreaking and announcement of two more plant sites in Nebraska, Midwest Etahnol announced yet another plant site this week, this one in Blencoe, Iowa. This little town of 213 people is located very close to the Nebraska/Iowa border and the proposed plant site is 477 acres of family owned property, which John Kant, …
ADM Riding Ethanol Wave
Lots of stories out about Archer Daniels Midland’s big fourth quarter profits on the strength of ethanol. ADM’s quarterly profit more than doubled from last year to $410 million, or 62 cents per share on “strong results from oilseed processing and ethanol.” Overall, ADM shares have risen 77 percent this year. Earnings from its bioproducts division, which includes ethanol, catapulted …
Looming Glut?
Here we go again – feast or famine time. Reuters is reporting that there could be a “looming glut” of ethanol ahead. Just a month ago we couldn’t produce enough. I especially like the fact that this story is based on the predictions of one person, Fimat Energy analyst Antoine Halff, who says, “Surging capacity … poses daunting challenges for …
Record Setting Demand
It should come as no surprise that demand for ethanol is setting records this year. The Renewable Fuels Association just announced the lastest available statistics to confirm that. According to RFA, May ethanol demand set a record at 349,000 barrels per day. That’s well ahead of May’s production figure of 293,000 barrels per day. Ethanol imports were down in May …
Two More Nebraska Plants Announced
At the groundbreaking ceremony for Midwest Ethanol’s O’Neill, Nebraska plant on Friday, company officials announced two more plant locations for the state. (Picture courtesy of Kurt Bravo). The specific site locations were identified as Furnas County Ethanol, Inc. in Arapahoe, which is 30 miles southwest of Holdrege, and Dawson County Ethanol, Inc. located in Elm Creek, near Kearney, Nebraska. Each …
Waste Not, Want Not
To some people, manure is just waste. To Iowa State University researcher Samy Sadaka, it’s bio-oil. He and other researchers at ISU are working on a project to convert farm waste into bio-oil. According to an ISU release, the project is being supported by $190,000 in grants from the Iowa Biotechnology Byproducts Consortium. The researchers are working to take wastes …
Fill Up and Feel Good on Pump Promotion
The latest “Fill Up, Feel Good” podcast from the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is about the latest pump promotion done in connection with IndyCar Series races. The podcast features comments from Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, IndyCar® Series drivers Vitor Meira and Jeff Simmons, Michigan Ethanol general manager Tony Simpson, Saginaw county Michigan farmer Don Morse and customer Alicia Hope …
Bunge Jumping on Iowa Ethanol Plant Deal
Bunge North America and Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy have announced plans to build and operate a 110-million gallon per year ethanol production facility near Council Bluffs, Iowa, according to a company release. Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC (SIRE) is an entity primarily owned by farmers in Southwest Iowa that was formed in 2005 for the purpose of developing and operating …