Governors' Biofuels Coalition

MMETSBURG, Iowa (AP) — The king of the Netherlands plans to visit Iowa next month to attend the grand opening of a northern Iowa ethanol plant co-owned by a Netherlands-based company.

Willem-Alexander says he will take part in the Sept. 3 grand opening ceremony at the Project Liberty cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg and tour the facility. The $250 million project is a joint venture of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based ethanol-maker POET and Royal DSM, a biotechnology company based in the Netherlands. The plant will produce 25 million gallons a year when fully operational.

It is among the first facilities of its size in the United States to begin making ethanol from plant material.

Cellulosic ethanol is made from the woody and fibrous parts of plants, including corn cobs, stalks, leaves and other residue.

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