Gevo Says Goodbye to Fossil-Based Electricity at Luverne Facility

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., March 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) and partners Juhl Energy (Juhl) and Harrison Street Investors held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completed construction of two wind turbines that will supply up to 5.0 MW of fully renewable electricity to Gevo subsidiary Agri-Energy’s production plant located in Luverne, MN. The electricity generated from wind will be wired directly to Agri-Energy, which is expected to enable it to utilize the emissions-free energy towards a lower carbon intensity score under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California. The wind electricity is expected to be on-line and available to Agri-Energy in April.

In connection with the wind project, Agri-Energy invested $1.5 million in the Series A preferred stock of Juhl’s asset subsidiary Juhl Clean Energy Assets (JCEA). Juhl, Harrison Street and other JCEA investors funded the remainder of the approximate $8.75 million project cost. Juhl will be the owner and operator of the wind project. Agri-Energy has agreed to purchase the electricity from the City of Luverne and will also purchase the Renewable Energy Credits associated with the wind project from an affiliate of Juhl.

“We are on a crusade to defossilize our business system, eliminating greenhouse gasses, and because of that, we expect to improve our margins,” said Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo. “The wind energy produced from these towers will help to take us off the fossil grid. It's a great first step, setting up our infrastructure for jet fuel and renewable gasoline.”

“This project is a great example of the local community and business working together to use renewable energy to increase its competitiveness,” said John Mitola, CEO of Juhl. “We applaud Gevo’s leadership and expect to see increasing interest from the biofuel industry in projects such as wind and other clean energy projects that we can assist with to lower carbon intensity.” 

“We are thrilled to expand our renewable energy investment footprint,” said Carolyn Arida, Director & Head of Utilities of Harrison Street. “We look forward to our continued partnership with Juhl and Gevo, two companies that continue to innovate and lead with their decarbonization and sustainability efforts.”

A special thanks to all who have helped to make this project possible, including: local landowners, City of Luverne, Rock County, Faith Technologies, First Farmers and Merchants Bank, Missouri River Energy Services, and GE.

About Gevo

Gevo is commercializing the next generation of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel fuel with the potential to achieve zero carbon emissions and address the market need of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with sustainable alternatives. Gevo uses low-carbon renewable resource-based carbohydrates as raw materials and is in an advanced state of developing renewable electricity and renewable natural gas for use in production processes. As a result, Gevo is able to produce low-carbon fuels with substantially reduced carbon intensity (as measured by the level of greenhouse gas emissions compared to standard petroleum fossil-based fuels across their lifecycle). Gevo’s products perform as well or better than traditional fossil-based fuels in infrastructure and engines, but with substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to addressing the environmental problems of fossil-based carbon fuels, Gevo’s technology also enables certain plastics, such as polyester, to be made with more sustainable ingredients. Gevo’s ability to penetrate the growing low-carbon fuels market depends on the price of oil and the value of abating carbon emissions that would otherwise increase greenhouse gas emissions. Gevo believes that its proven, patented technology that enables the use of a variety of low-carbon sustainable feedstocks to produce price-competitive, low carbon products, such as jet fuel, gasoline components like isooctane and isobutanol and diesel fuel, yields the potential to generate project and corporate returns that justify the build-out of a multi-billion-dollar business. Learn more at .

About Juhl Energy

Juhl Energy is an established leader and pioneer in the renewable energy industry with a focus on competitive, clean energy solutions, including wind, solar, hybrid systems and combined heat and power projects designed for rural communities, municipal electric companies, and industrial companies throughout the United States. Juhl Energy has completed over 28 projects, accounting for over 350 MW’s of power. Juhl services every aspect of development from general consultation, engineering, construction and management, to system operations and maintenance. Juhl Energy is headquartered in Chanhassen, MN, and has other offices in Chicago, and Milwaukee. 

About Harrison Street

Harrison Street is one of the leading investment management firms exclusively focused on alternative real assets. Since inception in 2005, the firm has created a series of differentiated investment solutions focused on demographic-driven, needs-based assets. The firm’s social infrastructure strategy pursues opportunities to service universities, health systems, government and long-term users as sustainability, decarbonization and resiliency trends increase the need for capital solutions in the space. Headquartered in Chicago with an office in London, the firm has more than 150-employees and approximately $24.8 billion in assets under management. Clients of the firm include a global institutional investor base domiciled in North America, Europe and Asia.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to a variety of matters, including, without limitation, statements related to successful completion of the renewable wind project on the timing anticipated or at all, Gevo’s ability to de-fossilize the plant in Luverne, Minnesota, Gevo’s success in improving its margins, Gevo’s success in claiming the benefit of a lower carbon intensity score under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in California and other statements that are not purely statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Gevo and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Gevo undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Gevo believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Gevo in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Gevo for the year ended December 31, 2018 and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Gevo.

Investor and Media Contact

Shawn M. Severson

Integra Investor Relations

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at