Poet Completes Ohio Ethanol Plant
Ohio Gets First Ethanol Plant
© 2008 The Associated Press
LEIPSIC, Ohio — Ohio finally got onboard the alternative fuel express Thursday with the dedication of the state's first ethanol plant, a $105 million facility capable of turning out 65 million gallons of ethanol a year.
The plant is the 22nd built by industry leader POET LLC of Sioux Falls, S.D., and is the first of three that the company plans to open in Ohio this year. Other plants are under construction in Marion and Fostoria.
"We are proud to be here today doing everything in our power to continue to move our nation away from Middle-East oil and toward Midwest ethanol," said Jeff Broin, chief executive of POET.
Dwayne Siekman, director of the Ohio Corn Growers Association, has said Ohio was the largest corn-producing state without an ethanol plant. Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska each have more than a dozen plants.
Ethanol produced from corn typically is blended with gasoline in a ratio of about 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. Some mixtures are 85 percent ethanol, but so-called E85 cannot be used in all vehicles, and mileage can be up to 25 percent less than gasoline, according to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.
POET has capacity to make about 1.2 billion gallons of ethanol a year at its plants, which are concentrated in the Midwest. The national capacity is about 7.2 billion gallons. The Ohio plant will convert an estimated 22 million bushels of corn a year, and is scheduled to start production in about two weeks.
"This increased production of ethanol in Ohio replaces millions of barrels of imported oil with domestic renewable energy," said Gov. Ted Strickland, who attended the dedication. "It is crucial that Ohio foster advanced, reliable and affordable energy sources, for our economy, our pocketbooks and our environment."
The plant, located about 90 miles northeast of Columbus, will employ about 45 people with an annual payroll of more than $2 million, the company said.
