Farmers start delivering biomass to area plant

Sioux City Journal.com
By Dave Dreeszen
Sioux City Journal Posted: Sunday, December 5, 2010 12:15 am

EMMETSBURG, Iowa — After it secures a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, Poet hopes to start construction on its advanced biofuels plant in Emmetsburg next year.

The Project Liberty cellulosic plant, which produce 25 million gallons of fuel each year from corn cobs and other plant waste typically left behind in farmers' fields, is expected to take 15 to 16 months to build.

Sioux Falls-based Poet started testing the feedstock delivery system this fall, paying farmers about $40 a bone-dry ton for round bales containing corn cobs, leaves and husks, said Jim Sturdevant, director of Project Liberty. Poet has already built a biomass storage facility at the Emmetsburg site, which is already home to a traditional corn ethanol plant.

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