Iowa Gets More Ethanol Capacity, but Propane Shortage Could Slow Harvest

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Iowa is again boosting fuel ethanol production capacity, as Cargill Incorporated (Minneapolis, Minnesota) is beginning production at a plant that it purchased from Tate & Lyle back in 2011.

Tate & Lyle suspended construction of the 100 million-gallon-per-year plant that was half-complete back in 2010. The ethanol industry was depressed, and the outlook for ethanol was volatile; also, uncertain conditions in the industrial starch and corn gluten feed markets did not provide any basis to complete and commission the plant.

Cargill has since made modifications to the plant and expects to produce 115 million gallons per year of fuel ethanol from 150,000 bushels of corn per day. The facility will produce ethanol, dextrose, SweetBran cattle feed and other bio-based products.

When completed, Fort Dodge will be a world-class biorefinery campus that will produce ethanol and other bio-based products, complementing the company's other plants in Blair, Nebraska, and Eddyville, Iowa.

With the additional capacity, Iowa remains the country's top producing state for fuel ethanol, producing more than 3.6 billion gallons annually.

With harvest in full swing, farmers also are facing a propane shortage. Because of the wet crops, lots of propane will be required to dry the corn. The governor of Iowa has stepped in and recently suspended the specific hours that drivers can transport propane in Iowa to address the issue. The order is currently in effect through November 7.

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