On Aug. 11, just two days after Tall Corn Ethanol began production in Iowa, Glacial Lakes Energy, LLC held its grand opening ceremony near Watertown, S.D. Construction was completed two months ahead of schedule.

"South Dakota has certainly been a leader for the ethanol industry – both in expanding the industry at home and in promoting renewable fuels in Washington, D.C.," said Bob Dinneen, RFA president. "I want to congratulate the farmer-owners of Glacial Lakes Energy on their grand opening."

Farmers have been leading the fight for energy independence by investing in ethanol plants. Thanks to Glacial Lakes and others, we are producing record amounts of ethanol each month and reducing our reliance on foreign oil."

The plant will convert more than 13.5 million bushels of corn into approximately 40 million gallons of ethanol and 128,000 tons of distillers dried grains annually. The plant will employ 34 full time workers.

"The demand from our plant is expected to add approximately 10 cents to every bushel of corn in our area," said Tom Branhan, Glacial Lakes Energy general manager. "This is great news for all farmers – not just the 800-plus who invested directly in the ethanol plant. We believe in building for the future. That's why we included a thermal oxidizer in the original design. Given the likelihood of new EPA regulations for the industry, that decision proved highly beneficial. We also had the plant designed for easy expansion if warranted in the future. We want to thank Fagen and ICM for bringing the plant online ahead of schedule."

Fagen, Inc., the Granite Falls, Minnesota design-build contractor, spearheaded the construction and incorporated a process design provided by ICM of Colwich, Kansas.

There are currently 66 ethanol plants operating in the United States and 11 plants under construction.