The Advantage of Coal-Fired Ethanol Production

Unlike ethanol plants powered by natural gas, the Heron Lake BioEnergy plant will derive its thermal energy from inexpensive and abundant coal.

Coal-fired ethanol plants offer a number of distinct and important advantages for the investor:

1. Plant management can lock in coal contracts to help control and significantly lower energy costs. Natural gas prices fluctuate daily and have been near record highs in 2004.
2. The investment in coal to obtain one million BTU's is about one-third of the cost of one million BTU's produced from natural gas.
3. At current costs, the use of coal rather than natural gas will result in $5 million in savings annually. This savings goes straight to the bottom line, accelerating the return on investment.
4. Coal-fired plants are equipped with modern technology to control emissions. They must comply with the same environmental standards as natural gas-powered plants and must meet the same strict permitting standards.
5. By using coal, we are taking an energy source that is not used for transportation fuel purposes (coal) and transforming it into a clean-burning transportation fuel that helps America increase its fuel supply, lower its dependence on imported oil, and improve its air quality.