POET Biorefining – Macon has resumed ethanol and Dakota Gold distillers grain production and has now added Voilà™ corn oil to its product mix.

The 45 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant suspended operations on Feb. 1 due primarily to a lack of available corn from last year’s drought. During the down time, the plant began work on approximately $14 million in upgrades. While construction continues in some areas, work is now complete on projects including:

- Voilà corn oil technology, which provides an additional product for new revenue
- A new, more efficient evaporator
- A new administration building and scale house
- A new control system

“Macon has always been a very successful plant in the POET network, and it’s great to have it back in operation,” POET CEO Jeff Lautt said. “Adding these upgrades will position it well for the future.”

Work continues on installation of full BPX technology – POET’s patented “no-cook” process that significantly reduces heat/energy use.

Board President John Eggleston said improvements are a key ingredient to success.

“The biofuels industry is always evolving, and this plant has evolved along with it” he said. “It’s been 13 years since we opened, and this is still a state-of-the-art facility.”

About POET

POET, one of the world’s largest ethanol producers, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 25-year-old company has a production capacity in excess of 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol and 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from its network of 27 production facilities. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic bio-ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk as feedstock, and expects to commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa through its joint venture with DSM. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.