Corn LP Launches Corn-to-Ethanol Plant

Corn LP (www.cornlp.com) started production at its Goldfield, Iowa-area ethanol plant, a facility that will process 20 million bushels of corn into 50 million gallons of ethanol and 150,000 tons of distiller grains annually.

"We are proud to welcome Corn LP as the 21st ethanol plant in Iowa," said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (www.iowarfa.org), in a prepared statement. "This plant is a showcase of the continuing innovation and improvement in the ethanol industry."

Fagen Inc. (www.fageninc.com), a Granite Falls, Minn. design-build contractor, oversaw the construction and incorporated a process design provided by ICM Inc. (www.icminc.com) of Colwich, Kan.

"We are the first dry mill plant using clean coal technology in the United States," noted Corn LP general manager Brad Davis, in a prepared statement. "Given the current prices of natural gas, coal offers us a more cost-effective option to power the plant and new technology allows us to utilize coal in an environmentally friendly manner."

Currently, Iowa has 21 ethanol plants with the capacity to produce over 1.1 billion gallons annually. There are 6 ethanol plants and two major expansions under construction with a combined annual capacity of over 500 million gallons. In addition, Iowa has 6 biodiesel plants with a combined annual capacity of over 100 million gallons either in operation or under construction.