July 09, 2010
Iowa an epicenter of clean energy movement
Published in Ethanol Producer Magazine
Those looking for a state to lead the pack in biofuels production as well as other biobased products need look no further than Iowa. “Iowa is rapidly becoming the development capital of the nation for the replacement of petroleum-based chemicals with bio-based chemicals,” according to a press release from the Iowa Department of Economic Development.
Currently, the state has an ethanol capacity of 3.28 billion gallons, or about 30 percent of the national production total. The state also produces 318 million gallons of biodiesel, more than 11 percent of total U.S. biodiesel production. In all, the industries have supported 70,000 jobs in the state, added $11.5 billion to the economy and generated $2.3 billion in household income.
But biofuels aren’t the only biobased products produced or being researched in that state. Biochemicals and bio-based polymers are also important contributors. “We’re trying to move things forward in the biobased economy,” Martin Mitchell told EPM. Mitchell is an international project manager in bioscience industry for the state’s economic development group.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver seems to recognize the importance of biobased products, including ethanol. On July 7 he visited the Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) plant under construction in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Set to begin operation later this year, the 420 MMgy ethanol plant will be the largest in the world. “My goal as governor is to continue building on our strength in biofuels,” Culver said in a prepared statement. “By doing so, we can ensure that the new jobs we create will grow new energy industries and in turn, create more jobs that fit our landscape, are permanent, and help retain existing employers.”
Although it’s located handily in the Corn Belt, starch ethanol isn’t the only fuel in town. Iowa already has a strong presence in the cellulosic ethanol world. Fiberight LLC completed a municipal solid waste-to-ethanol demonstration plant in Blairstown, Iowa, in May. Poet LLC plans to complete construction on its first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, Project Liberty in Emmetsburg, Iowa, in late 2011. The 25 MMgy plant will be co-located with one of the company’s corn ethanol plants and will produce ethanol from corn cobs.
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