Overview:
VeraSun Energy Corporation is the second largest ethanol producer in the U.S. We are also the largest “pure-play” ethanol producer, focusing primarily on the production and sale of ethanol and its co-products. This focus has enabled us to significantly grow our ethanol production capacity and to work with automakers, fuel distributors, trade associations and consumers to increase the demand for ethanol. As an industry leader, we play an active role in developments within the renewable fuels industry.
Ethanol is a type of alcohol, produced in the U.S. principally from corn. Ethanol is primarily used as a blend component in the U.S. gasoline fuel market. Refiners and marketers have historically blended ethanol with gasoline to increase octane and reduce tailpipe emissions. The ethanol industry has grown significantly over the last few years, expanding production capacity at a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 20% from 2000 to 2005. We believe the ethanol market will continue to grow as a result of its favorable production economics relative to gasoline, ethanol’s clean burning characteristics, a shortage of domestic petroleum refining capacity, geopolitical concerns, and federally mandated renewable fuel usage. We also believe that E85, a fuel blend composed primarily of ethanol, will become increasingly important over time as an alternative to unleaded gasoline.
We own and operate two of the largest ethanol production facilities in the U.S., with a combined ethanol production capacity of 230 million gallons per year, or MMGY. As of January 1, 2006, our ethanol production capacity represented approximately 5% of the total ethanol production capacity in the U.S., according to the RFA. In addition to producing ethanol, we produce and sell wet and dry distillers grains as ethanol co-products, which serve to partially offset our corn costs. We expect to operate three facilities with an aggregate production capacity of 340 MMGY by the end of August 2007 and five facilities with an aggregate production capacity of 560 MMGY by the end of the first quarter of 2008. |
