Web exclusive posted Oct. 30, 2008 at 11:04 a.m. CST

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based ethanol producer Poet LLC held a grand opening on Oct. 24 for its 65 MMgy Poet Biorefining-Marion ethanol facility in Marion, Ohio, the company's third ethanol plant in the state. The completion of the plant brings Poet's annual production capacity to 1.54 billion gallons.

U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, joined Poet Chief Executive Officer Jeff Broin in announcing the opening of Poet's newest facility in the state. Other speakers included Mike Wagner, executive director of the Buckeye Renewable Fuels Association, and Ken Frayer, Marion County Commission president.

Counting the Marion plant, Poet now has 26 facilities in the United States. The new Ohio plant will be equipped with the company's patent-pending BPX technology that eliminates the need for heat during the cooking process of producing ethanol, reducing energy usage by eight to 15 percent in comparison with conventional plants. The facility will also be outfitted with a regenerative thermal oxidizer that eliminates up to 99.9 percent of air emissions.

"I could not be more proud of Poet's commitment to Ohio agriculture and Ohio jobs, and our nation's national security," Voinovich said. "This facility, along with the plants opened in Leipsic and Fostoria, represent a critical part of Ohio's future economy and reaffirm Ohio's role as one of the top agricultural states and as one of the leading innovators and developers of alternative energies in the nation. Poet's commitment could not come at a more needed time for our nation's environmental, economic and national security needs."

The $130 million facility will process 22 million bushels of corn from area farms and will coproduce approximately 178,000 tons of Dakota Gold Enhanced Nutrition Distillers Products per year. Ethanol marketing for the facility is provided by Poet Ethanol Products and the distillers grains coproducts will be marketed by Poet Nutrition. Rail access will be provided to the facility through CSX Corp.

Poet is also building a pilot-scale cellulosic plant in Scotland, S.D. According to the company, the Scotland facility will begin producing ethanol from corn cobs before the end of the year. Also, work is expected to begin in 2009 on a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which the company coined Project Liberty, in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The Emmetsburg facility will also produce ethanol from corn cobs. Poet plans to replicate that commercial process and add it to existing and future corn-based ethanol plants.

Poet will host its Project Liberty Field Day on Nov. 6 in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The event, which is open to the public, will bring equipment manufacturers together with farmers at Poet Biorefining - Emmetsburg to show prototype equipment for efficiently harvesting corn cobs. Farmers will have the chance to talk with equipment dealers and see prototype equipment in action.