Hundreds attend ethanol plant open house

ANESVILLE — Hundreds of people, some from as close-by as Janesville and as far away as the Twin Cities, met at the Janesville ethanol plant Saturday for a tour and open house.

he open house was put on by the plant’s new owners, Guardian Energy, as a way of letting the community see the facility before it starts operation in the coming weeks.

Minnesota State Representative Bob Gunther (R - Fairmont) spoke to the crowd about the importance of ethanol to the state.

“Ethanol brings a lot to Minnesota,” he said. “Ethanol means a lot of good, green jobs.”

He added that the industry brings in over $6 billion to the state annually.

Gunther also tackled a number of myths about the industry, one of which was how much water is used up in the process of turning corn to fuel.

He told the crowd that seven golf courses in the metro area consume more water than the entire Minnesota ethanol industry.

He then introduced Rep. Tony Cornish, (R - Goodthunder) who highlighted the importance of educating people, including fellow legislators, on the benefits of ethanol to the state.

“Our thoughts are with you,” he said to the farmers in the crowd.

Representative Terry Morrow (DFL - St. Peter) thanked the crowd and the community for helping this plant get back up and running.

He added that it there has been bipartisan support for helping the Minnesota ethanol industry get off the ground.

“We represent a region, not a party,” he said of his fellow speakers.

He also addressed the complaint by some of the amount of water the ethanol process uses.

“It takes more water to make a gallon of beer than a gallon of ethanol,” he said. “And I don’t hear anyone saying we should stop making beer.”

Morrow went on to say that by reviving this project, the community is helping to bring new jobs to the area.

“You are showing that southern Minnesota can be an economic hotbed,” he said.

Interim CEO and Board President of Guardian Energy Randall Doyal thanked the work by the three legislators present and others like them, saying without their work, the industry would not have gotten off the ground in Minnesota.

He also told the crowd that when ethanol was booming, some companies knew it would not last and prepared for the future. He said some companies used the good times to pay off debt and put money in the bank to ride out the lean times. Many of those companies were the farmer owned co-ops, like those that make up Guardian Energy.

The facility is currently accepting corn, and if all goes as planned, the plant should begin operation in a few weeks once the new staff has been trained.

source: wasecacountynews