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GreenField Ethanol launches its largest plant in Johnstown, Ontario

JOHNSTOWN, Ontario

GreenField Ethanol, Canada's leading ethanol producer, today officially launched its largest state-of-the-art ethanol production facility in Johnstown, Ontario.

This 200-million litre per year ethanol plant will be GreenField Ethanol's largest facility to date. Approximately 20-million bushels of Ontario corn per year will be used to produce ethanol at the plant, which will be operational by mid-2008.

"GreenField Ethanol is truly proud to be part of the local community," said Bob Gallant, President and CEO of GreenField Ethanol. "The Johnstown facility will provide 50 local jobs and an added boost to the area’s economy."

The plant was officially launched by Gord Brown, MP for Leeds-Grenville, Larry Dishaw, Mayor of the Municipality of Edwardsburgh-Cardinal, Bob Runciman, MPP Leeds-Grenville and GreenField Ethanol’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Bliss Baker.

"Both the Government of Ontario and the Municipality of Edwardsburgh-Cardinal have been very supportive of our business. That support, along with the fact that eastern Ontario is a major corn-producing region, made the decision to invest in Johnstown an easy one," said Gallant.

The Ontario government has mandated that all gasoline sold in Ontario contain an average of five per cent ethanol by 2007. The figure will double to ten per cent by 2010. The Canadian government has also promised that all fuel in Canada will contain five per cent ethanol by 2010.

GreenField Ethanol runs Ontario Buy Direct, a new program that benefits Ontario’s corn growers by encouraging them to sell directly to the ethanol plant and thereby improve their grain marketing options. The program is available exclusively to Ontario farmers and offers producers several grain-marketing alternatives to manage their risk, provide control over cash flow, potentially increase profitability and provide contract flexibility. The program offers a variety of sales contracts such as "Futures First," a contract that allows producers to lock into futures prices today and set the basis prior to delivery.

The federal government contributed $15 million towards the construction of the Johnstown facility under the Ethanol Expansion Program.