By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

JOHNSTON, Iowa — After finishing three months ahead of its late summer completion date, South Dakota-based VeraSun Energy Corp. on April 12 announced plans to start early production at its Charles City ethanol plant, which will be its third facility in Iowa.

“VeraSun Energy continues to push the ethanol envelope,” said Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Assoc. (IRFA) about VeraSun Charles City, LLC, which began construction in March 2006 and was scheduled to open around August.

“At a time when major projects are lagging behind, VeraSun finished ahead of schedule,” Shaw said of the new facility, which will process 39 million bushels of corn into 110 million gallons of ethanol and 350,000 tons of distillers’ grains for livestock feed annually.

“IRFA congratulates VeraSun on the successful completion of their Charles City biorefinery and we look forward to another successful project at Hartley.”

As the U.S.’s renewable fuels production leader, Iowa currently has 27 ethanol refineries with the capacity to produce more than 1.8 billion gallons annually, and 20 ethanol refineries under construction or expansion that would add 1.5 billion gallons of annual capacity.

Headquartered in Brookings, S.D., VeraSun Energy currently operates ethanol refineries in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Aurora, S.D., in addition to its new Charles City plant, which is located in Floyd County.

Officials said its newly-constructed Upper Northeast Iowa startup would employ an estimated 50 skilled workers with $2 million in annual salaries. Officials also said the operation would increase tax revenue for the community, “adding monies for community projects such as schools, parks and infrastructure projects.”

Slated to reach full capacity within the next 30-45 days, the Charles City plant – combined with VeraSun ethanol refineries under construction in Hartley, Iowa, and Welcome, Minnesota – would bring an annual production capacity of about 560 million gallons of ethanol to Iowa.

“We are pleased to announce our Charles City facility is starting production nearly three months ahead of schedule,” said Don Endres, chairman and CEO of VeraSun, which was designed to run continuously, 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week throughout the year, would bring its total annual production capacity to 340 million gallons of ethanol.

“This early startup truly showcases the Power of PartnershipTM among VeraSun, our contractors and the Charles City community,” he said. “We are pleased to contribute even more to our nation’s domestic fuel supply.”

VeraSun officials added that the Charles City facility would increase demand for corn from area producers, which they said would “add value and stability to the agricultural community while strengthening the local economy.”

In fact, Endres said at the May 6, 2006 groundbreaking that “Charles City is a great community. We are excited to join the community and want to celebrate the power of partnership with all of those who have had a part in this success.”

As the nation’s second-largest ethanol producing corporation, VeraSun is also expected to announce plans for a proposed site for its sixth biorefinery by the end of June. Besides ethanol, Iowa also has nine biodiesel refineries with a combined annual capacity of more than 137 million gallons in operation, as well as five biodiesel refineries under construction that would add 180 million gallons of capacity to the Hawkeye State.

The IRFA said many additional renewable fuels projects are now under development.