Why they're Hot: Abengoa Bioenergy – #17 so far (#15 last year)

The Latest News: In October, Abengoa revealed that it is exploring the installation of a second ethanol plant in the Madison area following the launch of its $250 million ethanol plant there last week.  The new plant would be second-generation using corn stalks or prairie grass as feedstock whereas the new plant will use 32 million bushels of corn per year.

A month earlier, Abengoa disclosed that it is supplying 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide from its Rotterdam Europoort ethanol facility to local green houses via pipelines.  This use of carbon dioxide allows green house operators to lower their consumption of natural gas, and further reduces GEI emissions, while at the same time increasing plant output.  The new ethanol facility has recently begun operations with outputs of 126.8 MGy and 360,000 tons of DGS per year, using 1.2 million tons of corn as feedstock.

The Digest’s take: The company is getting closer to its advanced bioenergy goals in the US, while expanding its presence in Europe. That’s a strong combination that few advanced bioenergy companies have the depth to match.