Article published October 01, 2008
Fostoria ethanol plant debuts; production set for next week
Townspeople and company officials gather on the outskirts of Fostoria for the unveiling of Poet LLC's ethanol plant, the firm's second in Ohio.
(
BLADE PHOTOS/LISA DUTTON
)
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By GARY T. PAKULSKI
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
FOSTORIA -The corn bubble has lost air and the nation's economy has deflated even more, but operators of Ohio's newest ethanol plant are optimistic about their prospects.
"After a long construction process, this is a day that we looked forward to," said Nathan Schock, spokesman for Poet LLC in Sioux Falls, S.D. "It's an opportunity to show off this state-of-the-art facility to the community."
The $130 million plant will begin producing a corn-based alternative to gasoline on Monday. But the company officially launched the operation on the city's northern outskirts yesterday.
"Today, the U.S. ethanol industry is already cutting into foreign imports," Jeff Broin, Poet chief executive, told residents and elected officials gathered at the plant at 2111 Sandusky St. Participants included Robert Boggs, Ohio agriculture director.
The plant will produce 65 million gallons of ethanol annually, which will be shipped by road and rail. Most will be destined for plants that will mix it with gasoline to produce fuel that is 10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline for standard cars and trucks. But higher concentrations - up to 85 percent ethanol - will be made for newer vehicles made to run on the fuel.
So-called E85 has been praised for helping loosen the nation's dependence on imported oil. But critics point out that it reduces vehicle fuel efficiency.
Poet LLC's ethanol plant.
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Poet has launched a pilot plant in South Dakota to experiment with use of corn cobs for ethanol and could install the technology at the Fostoria factory as early as next year, the spokesman said. No decision has been made, however.
The Fostoria operation is Poet's 25th ethanol plant and second in Ohio. The firm opened its first plant in Leipsic in Putnam County in January and will launch a third in Marion on Oct. 24.
The price of crude oil was skyrocketing when the Fostoria project was announced 18 months ago. Even though prices have begun to decline, the Poet LLC spokesman said that won't necessarily hurt the profitability of ethanol plants.
"It's tough to say," Mr. Schock said. "Oil was down $10 [a barrel] yesterday and up $15 another day."
Ethanol producers also are struggling with corn prices that have jumped 50 percent from a year ago. That has prompted some Midwest manufacturers to reduce production. But Poet's chief executive said last week that he is interested in buying idle plants.
Contact Gary Pakulski at:
gpakulski@theblade.com
or 419-724-6082.
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