Ethanol firms join forces against critics

Des Moines Register
By PHILIP BRASHER • pbrasher@dmreg.com • November 11, 2008

Washington, D.C. – Several ethanol companies are getting together to add another voice to the debate over using grain for fuel.

They’ve formed Growth Energy, which planned ads in the New York Times defending the ethanol industry from accusations that biofuel production is driving up food prices.

Jeff Broin, chief executive of Poet LLC and a leader in putting the new group together, said it would be a “fresh, aggressive” voice for the industry. Poet, which operates seven ethanol plants in Iowa, planned to renew its membership in the rival Renewable Fuels Association but at a reduced level. Both RFA and Growth Energy are based in Washington.

Bruce Rastetter, chief executive of Ames-based Hawkeye Energy, said Growth Energy would be a “new voice in the industry that provides some leadership in particular on the food-versus-fuel debate.”

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