Iowa’s newest corn ethanol plant is gearing up in Atlantic. Elite Octane LLC, a privately held company, will produce 150 million gallons of ethanol per year in its dry mill plant, utilizing 50 million bushels of Iowa corn.

“A lot had to come together for this to happen,” says Nick Bowdish, president and CEO of Elite Octane. “We’ve had great support on both the local and the state level. The community let it be known it wanted this business and these jobs.” Elite Octane’s Atlantic plant will provide 50 new jobs with a $3.6 million payroll in this town of 7,000. “People here understand the importance of ethanol to the ag economy.”

According to Iowacorn.org, Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, creating nearly 30 percent of all U.S. ethanol. Iowa’s ethanol industry can produce more than 4.1 billion gallons annually, using more than 1.3 billion bushels of corn. There are currently 41 corn...