LAMBERTON — Highwater Ethanol, LLC CEO Brian Kletscher said the plant continues to look at diversifying its product lines.

“The addition of equipment to produce 190 proof high-purity alcohol, has allowed for that in the future,” Kletscher reported in his winter 2022 Highwater newsletter.

This type of ethanol is used as a neutral spirit by distilleries, for all-natural perfumes, making herbal extracts and solvents.

Kletscher said Highwater received approval from the California Air Resources Board in March 2021 to produce and sell about 4.5-5.2% of production as cellulosic ethanol. Highwater is producing 3.5-5% of its production as cellulosic ethanol, he said.

Interest in distilling cellulosic ethanol is driven by its potential to replace ethanol made from corn or sugar cane. Since those plants are also used for food products, diverting them for ethanol production can cause food prices to rise.

Cellulosic ethanol producers get a premium price for it from a carbon index used in California, Oregon and Washington. Kletscher said other states are looking at offering premium prices for cellulosic ethanol.

He said Highwater continues to buy corn from area producers, adding that Minnesota has more than 420 E15 pumps available and many blend pumps to ensure consumers have choices.

Kletscher urged Highwater members to do their part in using higher ethanol blends and asking for higher blends if they are not available in their area.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).