Ethanol focus turns to efficiency

By Tim Hoskins, Iowa Farmer Today

While the ethanol industry was building plants at a rapid pace in the past few years, the attention has turned to improving the efficiency of plants.

The current state of the ethanol industry is difficult on plants’ margins, says Tom Branhan, board president of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).

Bill Becker, CEO of Lifeline Foods in St. Joseph, Mo., agrees. He says the profits for ethanol plants are not what they were a couple years ago.However, they say the industry is still making money.

Branhan, also an official with Glacial Lakes Energy in Watertown, S.D., says the lower profit margins are due to the perceived glut of ethanol coming on the market.

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