Financing new ethanol projects is not big problem for the ethanol industry according to the Vice-President of Research and Development at U.S. ethanol producer POET, Dr. Mark Stowers. Capital market may have become tight earlier this year and the fact that profit margins are under pressure has resulted in an increasing number of shelved projects, but according to Dr. Stowers “there is still enough financing available for good projects that make sense.”
“From our own perspective, we currently have about 6 projects that are under construction and several others under development. Financing these projects is built around maybe three different aspects. One is having a performing technology that gives us a low cost position. Second is having the construction capabilities to build very efficient plants and then the third piece is having the management team able to manage up to 21 plants. I think it is our competitive position that makes financing easier.”
Dr. Stowers commented on several issues facing the U.S. ethanol industry at the moment, in an interview with Ethanol Statistics this week. He expressed his vision on the market, discussing the E10 blend wall in the U.S., the maximum corn-ethanol production capacity, financing issues and current market conditions. He explains why POET isn’t concerned about what’s happening to the industry at the moment, based on the efficiency of all its processes, from building plants in under a year to yielding close to 3 gallons of ethanol per bushel. POET is “ahead of the industry”, according to Dr. Stowers.
The entire interview, titled ‘POET’s Vision on U.S. Ethanol’, can be found
here.