The 10 Top Biofuels Stories of the Year

6. DuPont breaks ground on world’s largest Cellulosic Biorefinery

Editor’s Note: Just about any news out of Wilmington finds an audience — given how closely identified with advanced biofuels DuPont has become. But this was the hottest news all year, in terms of a ground-breaking — and a shot in the arm for those wondering if the big balance sheets would put their strength behind the new technologies; they did. And none of them got as much attention as this one.

In Iowa, DuPont broke ground today on its $200 million, 30 million gallon cellulosic biofuels facility in Nevada, Iowa. Expected to be completed in mid-2014, the new facility produce cellulosic ethanol from corn stover. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad was on hand to celebrate the official beginning of construction on the facility, adjacent to the Lincolnway Energy grain ethanol plant.

“This site in Nevada is the next critical step in our cellulosic ethanol journey. We look forward to bringing these advanced technologies online, creating local jobs and helping to deliver clean, sustainable energy,” said Governor Branstad.

Local impact and energy independence

With a local population of 6,900 and a local demand of 3 million gallons of gasoline, with the opening of the new plant, Nevada will become the largest producer of cellulosic biofuels in the world when the plant is completed, and a significant energy exporter. Combined with the 100 million gallons nameplate capacity at adjacent Lincolnway Energy, the town will produce 130 million gallons per year of biofuels.

The economic impact of the project will range far beyond its effect on energy independence. To supply the corn stover for its plant, DuPont will contract with more than 500 local farmers to gather, store and deliver over 375,000 dry tons of stover per year into the Nevada facility. If stover is priced at $50-$60 per ton, that will generate $1.75-$22.5 million in additional income in a 30 mile radius around the new facility, where stover will be harvested off of 190,000 acres.

In addition to the estimated 60 full-time plant operations jobs, there will be over 150 individuals involved in the collection, stacking, transportation and storage of the stover feedstock seasonally during each harvest.