FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Monte Shaw, Executive Director, 515-252-6249

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 19, 2007

Hawkeye Renewables, LLC Begins Construction on Ethanol Refinery near Shell Rock

Iowa Now Has 28 Operating Ethanol Refineries and 19 Under Construction or Expansion

JOHNSTON, IA – The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) today congratulated Hawkeye Renewables, LLC for beginning construction at its ethanol refinery near Shell Rock, Iowa.  The plant will process 39 million bushels of corn into 110 million gallons of ethanol and 350,000 tons of distillers grains annually.  Hawkeye Renewables has operating ethanol refineries in Iowa Falls and Fairbank and also has an ethanol refinery under construction in Menlo.  Once all four are operational, Hawkeye Renewables will be the largest ethanol producer in Iowa and the fourth largest in the U.S.

“Hawkeye Renewables is setting the pace for ethanol production in Iowa,” said Monte Shaw, IRFA Executive Director.  “Once operational, Hawkeye’s Shell Rock ethanol refinery, its fourth in Iowa, will move it past ADM as the state’s largest ethanol producer.”

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.

Hawkeye Renewables CEO Bruce Rastetter stated:  “We remain optimistic about the opportunity for ethanol to continue to be a key component of the U.S. gasoline supply. And as a company, we remain focused on striving to be the best large scale, low cost producer of ethanol in the market.”

Iowa is the leader in renewable fuels production.  Iowa has 12 biodiesel refineries with a combined annual capacity of nearly 230 million gallons in operation.  Three biodiesel refineries under construction will add 95 million gallons of capacity.  In addition, Iowa has 28 ethanol refineries with the capacity to produce over 1.9 billion gallons annually.  There are 19 ethanol refineries under construction or expansion that will add nearly 1.4 billion gallons of annual capacity.  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.

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