Summary of Results from Chariton Valley Biomass Project Long Term Test Burn

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FOR PRESS RELEASE

Date: Thursday, May 11, 2006

The Chariton Valley Biomass Project, which is managed by Chariton Valley Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Inc. and co-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alliant Energy, and other project partners, is approaching the end of a 3-month test burn of switchgrass with coal at the Ottumwa Generating Station in Chillicothe, Iowa. By the end of the test burn on Friday May 12, 2006 at 5 pm, the Chariton Valley Biomass Project team, led by Chariton Valley RC&D Inc., Alliant Energy (and its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company), PrairieLands Bioproducts, Kelderman Manufacturing, and assisted by numerous Iowa-based team members and others spanning from Portland, Oregon to Denmark had accomplished the following during the 3-month test burn:

The project team believes the processing system demonstrated for this project would also be well-suited for application in facilities that would create ethanol and/or other co-products from switchgrass.

The success of this project is credited to the following Iowa entities that have participated in the project over the years: The Iowa Congressional Delegation; The County Supervisors in Appanoose, Lucas, Monroe and Wayne Counties; Soil District Commissioners in Appanoose, Lucas, Monroe, and Wayne Counties; Iowa State University; University of Iowa; USDA NRCS and FSA State Offices and the County offices in Appanoose, Wayne, Davis, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, Marion, Mahaska, and Keokuk Counties; The Iowa DNR; Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship; The Leopold Center; The Iowa Energy Center; The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; Kelderman Manufacturing; Vermeer Manufacturing; John Deere Manufacturing; and Prairie Lands Bio-Products Inc.