Emmetsburg, Iowa has been named “Community of the Year” by Biofuels Digest in its annual awards.

Emmetsburg was honored “for the transformation of the small local community’s economy through corn and cellulosic ethanol,” according to the magazine. The town is the site of POET’s Project LIBERTY, the planned 25 million-gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant that will use corn cobs and light stover as feedstock.

This fall, area farmers harvested 56,000 tons of biomass. By the plant’s scheduled startup in 2012, farmers will be delivering about 300,000 tons to process into ethanol.

“The Emmetsburg community, the Iowa Power Fund and POET truly are partners in commercializing cellulosic ethanol,” Project LIBERTY Director Jim Sturdevant said. “The entire community has embraced its role as a leader in the nation’s clean energy future.”

“Emmetsburg’s city officials and staff are excited to have learned of the ‘Community of the Year’ award being bestowed upon Emmetsburg, Iowa by Biofuels Digest,” City Administrator John Bird said. “This honor would not be possible, of course, had POET not chosen Emmetsburg as a home for Project LIBERTY and, prior to this, the Voyager plant. POET has proven to be a wonderful corporate citizen here in Emmetsburg and Palo Alto County, and we are honored to claim them as our neighbor and friend.”

About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 23-year-old company has a production capacity of more than 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol and 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from 27 production facilities nationwide. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs and light stover as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

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