Iowa leaders call for biochemical tax credits for ethanol, biodiesel

Quad County Corn Processors passed a major milestone last month, producing its 1 millionth gallon of cellulosic ethanol.

The farmer-owned plant near the small Northwest Iowa town of Galva is the first in the U.S. to extract ethanol from corn kernel fibers. Most cellulosic, a next-generation biofuel, is made from inedible plants, such as corn stalks and switchgrass.

The bolt-on technology developed by Quad-County is an example of innovations that hold promise for adding value to Iowa's $11.5 billion-per-year biofuels industry, said Debi Durham, the state's economic development director.

Durham, a former Siouxland Chamber of Commerce president, is championing legislation that would set aside up to $15 million in tax credits per year to encourage ethanol and biodiesel plants to extract chemicals that could be used in consumer products such as plastics and textiles, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

"Iowa has already proven its might in the biofuels arena – our future opportunities can be found in the development of biochemicals," Durham said in a recent presentation to industry leaders. (full article...)

 DAVE DREESZEN, Sioux City Journal, May 10, 2015. DDREESZEN@SIOUXCITYJOURNAL.COM