Inbicon is declaring Energy Independence Day for Planet Earth as the first Inbicon Biomass Refinery swings into operation. It turns wheat straw into 1.4 million gallons a year of cellulosic ethanol, making it the largest producer of cellulosic ethanol in the world.

"We're producing not only The New Ethanol to replace gasoline but also a clean lignin biofuel to replace coal," says Inbicon CEO Niels Henriksen.

"But our renewable energy process is as important as our renewable energy products. The Inbicon Biomass Refinery can demonstrate dramatically improved efficiencies when integrated with a coal-fired power station, grain-ethanol plant, or any CHP operation. Symbiotic energy exchange helps our customers build sustainable, carbon-neutral businesses."

The Kalundborg refinery will be integrated with the Asnaes Power Station, Denmark's largest. A variety of feedstocks can be used: straw, corn stalks and cobs, sugar bagasse, and grasses. Waste steam from the power station will run the biomass refinery, increasing the refinery's total energy efficiency to 71%.

To produce green electricity, the refinery's lignin biofuel co-product is so clean it can augment coal-firing in power plant boilers without further purification.

At the 26th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop in St. Louis, three U.S. companies recently unveiled cellulosic projects in development. Each will include a scaled-up Inbicon Biomass Refinery-a commercial design producing 20MMgy of The New Ethanol.

Sandra Broekema, manager of business development for Great River Energy, a Minnesota electric cooperative, spoke about Dakota Spirit AgEnergy, a commercial-scale Inbicon Biomass Refinery processing North Dakota wheat straw to be co-located with their new 64 megawatt Spiritwood Station.

John Gell, Director of Genesee Regional BioFuels, presented plans for a biomass business complex near Rochester, New York. His company is focused on bringing an old brown site back to life while revitalizing New York's agriculture-processing corn stalks-transitioning to home-grown grasses. The lignin will offset coal used in existing power stations.

Peter Bendorf, PE, Integro Services Group, developing engineer for SWI Energy, plans a new 59MMgy corn-to-ethanol plant in Alton, Illinois integrated with a 20MMgy Inbicon Biomass Refinery. Utilizing the synergies of each will produce fossil-free ethanol.