POET and City of Sioux Falls, SD Renew Contract to Power POET Biorefining - Chancellor With Waste Methane Generated at Landfill

Sioux Falls, SD - Feb. 25, 2019 – POET and the City of Sioux Falls today renewed a contract to power POET Biorefining – Chancellor with waste methane generated at the Sioux Falls Regional Landfill.

For the last 10 years, the landfill has transported methane to POET via an 11-mile pipeline, offsetting fossil fuel use at the 120 million gallon-per-year facility.

The new contract extends the partnership by another 10 years.

“Over the last decade, POET Biorefining – Chancellor has evolved into one of the greatest renewable energy stories on the planet,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said.

“This facility takes waste methane that would have been vented into the atmosphere and instead puts it to use making clean fuel to power our vehicles.”

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken noted that this partnership lowers rates for all citizens at the landfill while providing a new source of clean energy.

“Thanks to our partnership with POET, the City is able to provide a renewable fuel to POET’s biofuel production operations to make a renewable fuel.” Said Mayor Paul TenHaken.

“Landfill gas sales to POET also keeps landfill fees low. All around, a win-win for sustainable energy and landfill customers in the five county service area.”

Broin said innovation is the key to offsetting the devastation caused by climate change.

Energy solutions such as this provide a cost-effective means of protecting our planet.

“Our scientists and engineers are hard at work driving the efficiency of biofuel production and creating new sustainable bioproducts from the surface of the earth,” he said.

“What we see in Chancellor represents everything POET strives for as a company across all of our 28 plant locations.”

Over the last 10 years, POET Biorefining – Chancellor has used 3.7 million MMBTUs of landfill gas in its production process, offsetting nearly 200,000 metric tons of CO2 from natural gas.

That is the equivalent of one year’s greenhouse gas emissions from 23,000 homes.

The facility has two other sources for energy that offset even more fossil fuel.

A solid fuel boiler uses 100,000 tons of waste wood each year to replace natural gas, and POET is currently seeking new sources for waste biomass to expand its use.

In addition, a 4500 KW turbine installed in 2018 uses process steam to generate 35 percent of the plant’s electricity needs.

For more information, please contact Matt Merritt at 605-370-9959 or matt.merritt@poet.com