Ethanol plant gets federal aid to switch from coal

Des Moines Register
Blog post by Philip Brasher • pbrasher@dmreg.com • September 8, 2010

The Lincolnway Energy ethanol plant at Nevada is getting nearly $2 million in federal funds to fit the facility to run on tree trimmings, corn stalks or other sources of biomass instead of coal.

It’s the first grant to be handed out under an Agriculture Department program that was created through the 2008 farm bill to help biofuel producers reduce their emissions of greenhouse gas emissions. Coal is a major source of carbon dioxide.

The $1.9 million grant, to be announced by the department tomorrow, will pay half the cost of overhauling the Nevada facility to switch from coal to biomass.