FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Lucy Norton, Managing Director, 515-225-9242
Monte Shaw, Executive Director, 515-225-9242

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Construction Begins on VeraSun Charles City Ethanol Refinery

JOHNSTON, Iowa - May 05, 2006 - The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today congratulated VeraSun Charles City for beginning construction on its ethanol refinery near Charles City, Iowa. The official ground breaking is Saturday, May 6, 2006. The facility will process 39 million bushels of corn into 110 million gallons of ethanol and 353,000 tons of distillers grains annually. This is VeraSun’s second ethanol refinery in Iowa and third overall.

“The VeraSun Charles City project brings Iowa’s ethanol capacity to nearly 2 billion gallons – operating and under construction,” said Monte Shaw, IRFA Executive Director. “This is a huge achievement for Iowa and we applaud VeraSun’s continued support of Iowa’s ethanol industry.”

Fagen, Inc., the Granite Falls, Minnesota design-build contractor, is overseeing the construction and incorporating a process design provided by ICM, Inc. of Colwich, Kansas.

Iowa is the leader is renewable fuels production. Currently, Iowa has 22 ethanol refineries with the capacity to produce over 1.3 billion gallons annually. There are 7 ethanol refineries and two expansions under construction with a combined annual capacity of over 600 million gallons. In addition, Iowa has 6 biodiesel refineries with a combined annual capacity of over 100 million gallons either in operation or under construction. Many additional renewable fuels projects are under development.

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association was formed in 2002 to represent the state’s ethanol and biodiesel producers. The trade group fosters the development and growth of the renewable fuels industry in Iowa through education, promotion, legislation and infrastructure development.