Whitehouse Video: President Obama Visits Biorefining Plant

Remarks of President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama today said ethanol is an important part of a clean energy future and a strong rural economy during a visit to POET Biorefining – Macon, Mo.

The President took a tour of the plant and talked with POET CEO Jeff Broin and other POET team members before speaking to the press about ethanol and the jobs the industry continues to provide for rural America.

“There shouldn’t be any doubt that renewable, homegrown fuels are a key part of our strategy for a clean energy future – a future of new industries, new jobs in towns like Macon, and new independence,” Obama said.

The President talked about his background as a farm-state senator and his experience with ethanol.

“After all, I may be President these days, but I used to be a Senator from Illinois. I didn’t just discover the merits of biofuels like ethanol when I first hopped on the campaign bus,” he said. “I believe in their potential to contribute to our rural economies and our clean energy economy.”

The President’s visit was part of his “White House to Main Street Tour,” which took him through parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri this week. After visiting POET, the President toured a local farm.

“President Obama has shown tremendous support for ethanol in the past, and it was great to hear that he remains steadfast in his support for clean, homegrown, renewable fuel,” Broin said. “POET has more than 1,500 team members in locations across the Midwest working hard each day to offset oil imports. With continued support from Washington for grain-based and cellulosic ethanol, every state in the nation can take part in giving America a secure energy future.”

POET Biorefining – Macon was the first ethanol plant in Missouri when it began operations as a 15 million gallon-per-year plant in May 2000. Its immediate success prompted an expansion in 2003 to a capacity of 46 million gallons-per-year. The plant also produces the high-protein animal feed Dakota Gold® dried distillers’ grains and carbon dioxide for market as part of the ethanol production process. The Macon plant was POET’s fifth in a network that now totals 26 ethanol plants in seven states.

Photos of the event are available on POET’s Flickr page. Visit Rhapsody in Green for a copy of the Presidents prepared remarks and a link to audio.

About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 22-year-old company produces more than 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol annually from 26 production facilities nationwide. POET recently started up a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

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