Feb 13, 2014
POET May Build Four Corn-Based Ethanol Plants in M.T. do Sul
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
In recent years, the farmers in the center-west region of Brazil have produced an excess of corn that has resulted in a glut in the market and very low domestic corn prices. One proposed way to increase the domestic demand for corn is to build corn-based ethanol plants to take advantage of the excess corn production.
As a result, the first corn-based ethanol plant in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul is expected to be built by a joint venture formed by POET and BioUrja Trading LLC. According to news reports, the newly formed company will hold a series of meeting with the governor of Mato Grosso do Sul and environmental officials over the next two weeks to work out details of their proposed new ethanol facility.
The site chosen for the US$ 300 facility is in the municipality of Chapadao do Sul in the northeastern part of the state. Company officials made their first visit to the region in April of 2013. The company has already submitted a petition for an environment license from the state EPA and only after the silence is granted will construction be allowed to begin. The environment silence may take several months to be issued.
The proposed facility will be built on a 50 hectare site (123 acres). Initially the facility is expected to utilize 350,000 tons of corn annually in the production of 50 million liters of ethanol and dry distillers grain which will be sold locally for animal rations. The facility will create 150 jobs directly and 600 jobs indirectly and is expected to start operating at the end of 2015.
In addition to this facility, the company is interested in three other sites in the state for the production of corn-based ethanol. POET is responsible for approximately 10% of the ethanol production in the U.S.