POET Says Iowa Cellulosic Ethanol Plant To Be Operational By 2011

NEW YORK, Reuters - U.S. private ethanol company POET said that by 2011 an Iowa plant it is converting will produce cellulosic ethanol, a emerging fuel touted by many environmentalists as low in greenhouse gases and easy on food supplies.

Project Liberty will produce more than 31 million gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol made from corn fiber and corn cobs.

U.S. ethanol production has boomed this year after President George W. Bush laid out millions in incentives for the domestic source of motor fuel. POET was selected in February by the Department of Energy, along with five other companies, for jointly funded cellulosic ethanol projects. POET's award is up to $80 million and can't exceed 40 percent of the project's total cost

Iowa Bioeconomy News, Oct. 8, 2007