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POET is cutting ethanol production; blames ‘oil bailouts’
The nation’s biggest ethanol producer, POET, is cutting back on production.
POET says it will idle its Cloverdale, Indiana plant and reduce output at half of its other facilities, with the largest drops taking place in Iowa and Ohio. The company says the production cutback will reduce its corn demand by 130 million bushels annually.
POET chairman and CEO Jeff Broin says the move was prompted by recent decisions by the Trump Administration regarding RFS Small Refinery Exemptions. Broin says the 31 new waivers have wiped out any near-term growth potential for year-round E15. He calls the waivers “bailouts to oil companies” and says the EPA has “robbed rural America”.
Broin says the granting of the waivers also brings into question “the President’s promises made to family farmers and rural communities”.
