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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008) |
VeraSun Energy Corporation (Pink Sheets: VSUNQ), headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D. is a leading producer of renewable fuel. Founded in 2001, the company has a fleet of 16 production facilities in eight states, of which one is still under construction. VeraSun Energy is scheduled to have an annual production capacity of approximately 1.64 billion gallons (BGY) of ethanol and more than five million tons of distillers grains by the end of 2008. The company also has begun construction at its Aurora, South Dakota facility to extract oil from dried distillers grains, a co-product of the ethanol process, for use in biodiesel production.
VeraSun markets E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline for use in Flexible-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), directly to fuel retailers under the brand VE85®. VeraSun Energy now has approximately 150 VE85® retail locations under contract in more than fifteen states and Washington, D.C..
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History
VeraSun Energy was founded in 2001 with the goal of providing a renewable, home-grown energy source while boosting domestic rural economy and creating a future that includes renewable energy to help benefit the environment and reduce the nation's demand for foreign oil.
The company has been credited for a number of “industry firsts” – the first 100 million-gallon-per-year (MMGY) dry-grind production facility, the country's first branded E85, VE85®; the first ethanol producer to form strategic alliances with Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Kroger to increase awareness and availability of E85, and the first company to place an E85 retail station in the Washington D.C. metro area.
VeraSun began producing ethanol in December 2003 when its Aurora, S.D., production facility came on-line. Less than two years later, Fort Dodge, Iowa, became the second VeraSun facility to begin production, increasing the company's production capacity to more than 200MMGY. Not stopping with two facilities, VeraSun began other greenfield site developments in Iowa at Charles City and Hartley, in addition to a third location in Welcome, Minnesota. A fourth greenfield location is currently under development in Reynolds, Indiana – also referred to as BioTown™ USA. VeraSun Charles City began operation in April 2007, three months ahead of schedule.
On June 14, 2006, VeraSun became the first "pure play" ethanol producer to take its stock public when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The public listing was the first of several major announcements for the company over the next 18 months. In July 2007, VeraSun announced the first major acquisition in the industry when the company purchased three 110MMGY production facilities from ASAlliances Biofuels, LLC. The facilities, located in Linden, Indiana; Albion, Nebraska, and Bloomingburg, Ohio, doubled the company's production capacity to more than 650MMGY.
VeraSun's second major acquisition came less than five months later when it was announced that VeraSun and US BioEnergy would merge, creating a company with 16 biorefineries and a production capacity by the end of 2008 of more than 1.6 billion gallons per year. The merger closed on April 1, 2008 and positions VeraSun as the largest ethanol producer in the United States with plants located in eight different states.
Biorefinery Locations
VeraSun Energy has a fleet of 16 production facilities in eight states. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
Albert City, Iowa
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: December 2006
Albion, Nebraska
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: October 2007
Aurora, South Dakota
Capacity: 120MMGY
Start-Up: December 2003
Bloomingburg, Ohio
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: March 2008
Central City, Nebraska
Capacity: 100MMGY
Start-Up: April 2004
Charles City, Iowa
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: April 2007
Dyersville, Iowa
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: September 2008
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: October 2005
Hankinson, North Dakota
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: July 2008
Hartley, Iowa
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: August 2008
Janesville, Minnesota
Capacity: 110MMGY
Projected Start-Up: Q4 2008
Linden, Indiana
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: August 2007
Marion, South Dakota
Capacity: 110MMGY
Start-Up: February 2008
Ord, Nebraska
Capacity: 50MMGY
Start-Up: May 2007
Welcome, Minnesota
Capacity: 110MMGY
Construction Complete: June 2008
Woodbury, Michigan
Capacity: 50MMGY
Start-Up: September 2006
Bankruptcy
As of 31 October 2008, VeraSun and twenty-four of its subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to enhance liquidity while it reorganizes.[1] The Sioux Falls-based company says the move was voluntary in order to maintain business as usual. South Dakota Senator John Thune says he is hopeful VeraSun Energy will emerge a stronger company after the chapter 11 filing.[2]
