Ethanol Producers seem pleased with the new Energy Bill passed by Congress. It's aimed at reducing the country's dependency on foreign oil by increasing the use of renewable fuels. The bill also calls for stricter standards when it comes to protecting the environment.

From a distance, it looks like an environmental menace as thick plumes of smoke shroud the early-afternoon sun near Chancellor. But up close, you see most of the smoke is actually steam. 

Rick Serie, is the General Manager at POET Biorefining, Chancellor. "We produce a green fuel down here at POET Chancellor and part of that mission is to cut down on fossil-fuels." 

POET has become the world's largest ethanol producer. Turning out more than a-billion gallons a year, POET operates 22 plants in seven different states, and this plant in Chancellor is about to be the cleanest and "greenest" of them all. 

In 2007, this plant converted 17-million bushels of corn into 50-million gallons of ethanol...but it's not a cheap process. This plant, along with many others like it, relies heavily on natural gas to turn corn into fuel. 

Serie says, "One of our largest inputs for production is natural gas. So what we're doing is concentrating on cutting our usage of natural gas and supplying our energy for the front side of the plant with a solid-waste fuel boiler system." 

Otherwise known as a really, really big furnace that will be fueled by waste. 

When it comes to competition within the ethanol industry it's not about making a better grade of ethanol, there's only one way to do that, the real challenge was how to make ethanol, cheaper. POET has apparently found a way to do just that and in doing so may have reinvented the way biofuels are made in the future. 

Serie says, "that is why we're so excited about this project because for the fact that we are taking waste product...waste-wood and producing a good, green renewable fuel for America." 

When POET flips the switch on this solid-waste boiler, the system will burn 150 tons of wood every day...the goal is to burn 350 tons a day. 

Serie says, "If we can burn 350 tons of wood chips a day we will be offsetting 60% of our natural gas usage for the expanded plant." 

And what's good for the company is also good for the environment.
Seri says, "It has state-of-the-art pollution-control devices on it and just some of the best in the country so we will not produce any more or any pollution whatsoever out of this system." 

Where does POET find 350 tons of waste material everyday?  At a local pallet company of course.
Mueller Pallets processes about 30-thousand pallets a week. Workers tear down and rebuild damaged pallets and throw the unusable materials in here…
 
This huge grinder can shred up to 20-tons of wood every hour. Mueller Pallets will provide the fuel for POET's solid waste boiler, but will need a lot of help filling an order this big. 

John Kirchner is a sale's rep for Mueller Pallets. "Landfills, contractors, we've even got the "Joe" woodworker coming from his shop in his garage and dumping his waste-wood on our pile." 

Mueller Pallets has signed agreements with area landfills in four different states. Kirchner admits, it was a tough sell. But once they discovered Mueller Pallets would come on site, grind the wood, and then haul it way for free...they were convinced it's good business.

Kirchner says, "So we're working with them, we're not intercepting any wood from those communities."
So the towns still collect much-needed dump fees. 

Mueller pallets also have arrangements with area contractors and local garbage haulers to help keep construction waste out of the Sioux Falls landfill. 

And depending on the amount destruction during a storm, Mueller Pallets will respond with its shredder to help cleanup a tree-littered community. It will be used as a greener fuel source to create a green source of fuel for American drivers.

f you have a large amount of waste-wood you can call Mueller Pallets to make arrangements to drop it off...for free. 

With the addition of this solid waste fuel boiler POET Chancellor will double their operating capacity to 100 million galllons of ethanol a year. POET hopes to fire up their new solid waste boiler later this year.