Jeff Broin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 25, 1965 |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin |
| Employer | POET |
| Title | Chairman and CEO, POET Board member, Growth Energy |
Jeff Broin (born August 25, 1965) is the founder of POET, LLC, a leading producer of biofuels and coproducts. He currently serves as chairman and CEO. [1]
Broin's family ran a farm in Minnesota. In the early 1980s, Broin's father began producing ethanol on the farm. In 1987, he mortgaged the farm to purchase an ethanol plant in Scotland, South Dakota, and put Jeff in charge of managing it. Jeff became the CEO of Broin Companies, and in 2007 renamed it to POET. It is now the world's largest biofuel producer, with 34 plants. [2]
Broin advocates for the biofuels industry and also serves on the board of Growth Energy, [3] the leading biofuel trade association in the country.
POET places an emphasis on fitness and nutrition programs for its employees, offering exercise rooms, on-site health screenings, yearly blood and biometric screenings, and one-on-one health consultations. [13]
Broin formed the POET Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on children and agriculture. [14] Supported U.S. projects include Make-A-Wish, LifeLight, Children's Home Society, Global Health Ministries, 4-H, and FFA. [15]
In 2011, he and his family founded the non-profit Seeds of Change. [16] Current projects include Mission Greenfield, which spreads agriculture technology by working with 80,000 farmers in Kenya; Mission Greenhouse, a multi-year project to develop a school for disadvantaged girls in Kenya; [17] Mission Breathe, a project focused in Kenya and Haiti to transition from solid cooking fuels (wood and charcoal) to liquid renewable biofuels; [18] and projects such as potable water development, health, and nutrition education in Africa. [19]
In 2019, Broin announced a $2 million gift for construction of the precision agriculture facility at South Dakota State University, citing SDSU's increasing commitment to precision agriculture as an important step toward combatting climate change. [20]
Jeff Broin grew up near Kenyon, MN. He holds a degree in Agricultural Business from University of Wisconsin and is husband of over 27 years to his wife, Tammie, and father to three children - Alyssa, Miranda, and Austin. [21]
Panicum virgatum, commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the dominant species of the central North American tallgrass prairie and can be found in remnant prairies, in native grass pastures, and naturalized along roadsides. It is used primarily for soil conservation, forage production, game cover, as an ornamental grass, in phytoremediation projects, fiber, electricity, heat production, for biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and more recently as a biomass crop for ethanol and butanol.
Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol produced from cellulose rather than from the plant's seeds or fruit. It can be produced from grasses, wood, algae, or other plants. It is generally discussed for use as a biofuel. The carbon dioxide that plants absorb as they grow offsets some of the carbon dioxide emitted when ethanol made from them is burned, so cellulosic ethanol fuel has the potential to have a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels.
The United States produces mainly biodiesel and ethanol fuel, which uses corn as the main feedstock. The US is the world's largest producer of ethanol, having produced nearly 16 billion gallons in 2017 alone. The United States, together with Brazil accounted for 85 percent of all ethanol production, with total world production of 27.05 billion gallons. Biodiesel is commercially available in most oilseed-producing states. As of 2005, it was somewhat more expensive than fossil diesel, though it is still commonly produced in relatively small quantities.
Biofuel is fuel that is produced from organic matter (biomass), including plant materials and animal waste. It is considered a renewable source of energy that can assist in reducing carbon emissions. The two main types of biofuel currently being produced in Australia are biodiesel and bioethanol, used as replacements for diesel and petrol (gasoline) respectively. As of 2017 Australia is a relatively small producer of biofuels, accounting for 0.2% of world bioethanol production and 0.1% of world biodiesel production.
The Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) is an organization dedicated to developing new sources of energy and reducing the impact of energy consumption. It was created in 2007 to apply advanced knowledge of biology to the challenges of responsible, sustainable energy production and use. Its main goal is to develop next-generation biofuels—that is, biofuels that are made from the non-edible parts of plants and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Biofuels are renewable fuels that are produced by living organisms (biomass). Biofuels can be solid, gaseous or liquid, which comes in two forms: ethanol and biodiesel and often replace fossil fuels. Many countries now use biofuels as energy sources, including Sweden. Sweden has one of the highest usages of biofuel in all of Europe, at 32%, primarily due to the widespread commitment to E85, bioheating and bioelectricity.
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18, 2008. The bill was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill. It continues the United States' long history of agricultural subsidies as well as pursuing areas such as energy, conservation, nutrition, and rural development. Some specific initiatives in the bill include increases in Food Stamp benefits, increased support for the production of cellulosic ethanol, and money for the research of pests, diseases and other agricultural problems.
China has set the goal of attaining one percent of its renewable energy generation through bioenergy in 2020.
Sustainable biofuel is biofuel produced in a sustainable manner. It is not based on petroleum or other fossil fuels. It includes not using plants that are used for food stuff to produce the fuel thus disrupting the world's food supply.
An aviation biofuel is a biofuel used to power aircraft and is a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) considers it a key element in reducing the environmental impact of aviation. Aviation biofuel is used to decarbonize medium and long-haul air travel. These types of travel generate the most emissions, and could extend the life of older aircraft types by lowering their carbon footprint. Synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) refers to any non-petroleum-based fuel designed to replace kerosene jet fuel, which is often, but not always, made from biomass.
Issues relating to biofuel are social, economic, environmental and technical problems that may arise from biofuel production and use. Social and economic issues include the "food vs fuel" debate and the need to develop responsible policies and economic instruments to ensure sustainable biofuel production. Farming for biofuels feedstock can be detrimental to the environment if not done sustainably. Environmental concerns include deforestation, biodiversity loss and soil erosion as a result of land clearing for biofuels agriculture. While biofuels can contribute to reduction in global carbon emissions, indirect land use change for biofuel production can have the inverse effect. Technical issues include possible modifications necessary to run the engine on biofuel, as well as energy balance and efficiency.
The use of biofuels varies by region. The world leaders in biofuel development and use are Brazil, United States, France, Sweden and Germany.
POET LLC is a U.S. biofuel company that specializes in the creation of bioethanol. The privately held corporation, which was originally called Broin Companies, is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 2007, the Renewable Fuels Association named POET the largest U.S. ethanol producer, creating 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m3) of fuel per year. POET currently produces 3 billion gallons of ethanol per year, or 19% of all ethanol produced in the United States.
Renewable energy in Canada represented 17.3% of the Total Energy Supply (TES) in 2020, following natural gas at 39.1% and oil at 32.7% of the TES.
Algenol, founded in 2009, headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, Algenol is an industrial biotechnology company that is commercializing patented algae technology for production of ethanol and other fuels. The technology enables production four of the most important fuels using a proprietary process involving algae, sunlight, carbon dioxide and salt water.
The indirect land use change impacts of biofuels, also known as ILUC or iLUC, relates to the unintended consequence of releasing more carbon emissions due to land-use changes around the world induced by the expansion of croplands for ethanol or biodiesel production in response to the increased global demand for biofuels.
Renewable energy in South Dakota involves production of biofuels and generation of electricity from renewable sources of energy such as wind and hydropower. South Dakota is among the states with the highest percentage of electricity generation from renewable resources, typically over 70 percent. In 2011, South Dakota became the first U.S. state to have at least 20% of its electricity generation come from wind power.
Ceres, Inc. was a biotechnology company based in Thousand Oaks, California, United States that operated from 1996 to 2016, when it was acquired by Land O'Lakes. The company was a spinoff from UCLA researchers. Its ultimate commercial products were seeds of genetically modified crops used for biofuel production. In addition to its operations in the United States, Ceres had a subsidiary in Brazil called Ceres Sementes do Brasil.
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MBI (the Michigan Biotechnology Institute) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) biotechnology research accelerator based in Lansing, Michigan. MBI came into existence in 1982 through a joint collaboration between the State of Michigan and a few different organizations, including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. MBI's original goal, as stated by Russell G. Mawby, chairman and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, was to "link university research with applications of biotechnology to expand our forest and agricultural industries, create jobs, and further improve the state's economic situation." The W.K. Kellogg foundation made a 4-year, $10 million grant to carry out this objective.
[1] McElroy, Anduin Kirkbride (May 22, 2007) A Poetic Journey Ethanol Producer Magazine [2] Growth Energy Leadership and Board of Directors Retrieved Oct. 7, 2011 [3] Dolan, Kerry A. (Nov. 24, 2008) Mr. Ethanol Fights Back Forbes [4] ACORE Phase II of Renewable Energy in America National Policy Forum Speakers Retrieved Oct. 10, 2011 [5] Winchester, Cody (Sept. 26,2011) Poet hails $105 million loan guarantee Argus Leader [6] POET (Sept. 23, 2011) DOE grants final approval on POET cellulosic ethanol loan guarantee Retrieved Oct. 10, 2011