St. Paul, MN, Tuesday, March 2, 2004 - The Broin Companies are proud to announce construction plans for an ethanol production facility to be built near Lake Crystal, MN. The official announcement for Northstar Ethanol, LLC was made in a joint press conference Tuesday afternoon with Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty at the Minnesota state capitol.

The new plant will produce 49.5-million gallons of ethanol utilizing 17.5 million bushels of local corn. The plant will also produce 150,000 tons of Dakota Gold PlusTM. Dakota Gold Plus is a premium, high protein distillers dried grain with solubles. The project will cost approximately $64 million dollars and will provide 40 quality, high-tech jobs for the area with an annual payroll of $1.5 million. Construction is expected to begin in late spring or early summer.

Northstar Ethanol, LLC will benefit from a number of Governor Pawlenty’s initiatives, including Positively Minnesota BizNice and the Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ) program. Jeff Broin, CEO of the Broin Companies, said these two programs are giving everyone involved in this project an opportunity to help Lake Crystal be more competitive in the national and global economy. According to Broin, the development effort will enhance an environment of conservation, stewardship, investment and growth in rural Minnesota.

“The JOBZ program stimulated and intensified our interest in expanding our business in Minnesota,” said Broin. “This regional effort will be rewarded with one of the most technologically-advanced, economicallyenhanced, environmentally-friendly ethanol production facilities in the nation. Advances in design, research, construction, microbiology and technology made by our firm over the past 20 years will also make this facility one of the most efficient ethanol plants in the world."

Governor Tim Pawlenty praised the plan to build the Northstar Ethanol plant near Lake Crystal, Minn., saying the $64-million project is another early success of the Jobs Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ) initiative and recent efforts to streamline the state’s permitting process.

“It’s hard to count all the ways this plant will fuel the regional economy,” said Governor Pawlenty. “Workers benefit from dozens of new, well-paying jobs; Main Street benefits from the millions of dollars the plant will spend in the area every year; farmers benefit from increased corn prices; and the nation benefits when we produce more of our energy at home.”

Northstar Ethanol will be the 21st ethanol plant project undertaken by the Broin Companies. The Broin Companies have been successful by setting the standards for the ethanol industry for 20 years. They provide turnkey development, design, engineering, construction, management and marketing services for their premier ethanol plant partners.

“This is an exciting project and we’re looking forward to getting all the final details wrapped up and bringing this plant online and managing it to profitability as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Broin said. A date for the ground breaking ceremony will be set in the next few weeks.