John Deere Wind Energy Press Release

Winnebago, Minn. (Dec. 5, 2006) — Corn Plus Cooperative, a farmer-owned ethanol plant in Winnebago, Minn., is entering into a co-development relationship with John Deere to harness wind energy to help power their plant. When the wind farm is up and running at capacity, approximately 45 percent of the electric energy demand for the plant will be supplied by wind energy.

Corn Plus was the first dry mill ethanol plant in Minnesota, and it’s already undergone an expansion and other upgrades in the last few years to make it more energy efficient. "High fuel costs were cutting into the plant's profit margins and something had to be done," says Keith Kor, general manager of Corn Plus. "We collaborated with Alliant Energy and installed a unique, fluidized bed reactor that burns biomass products to create steam to run the plant. This process reduces natural gas usage by 50 percent to 60 percent," Kor adds. Corn Plus was the first ethanol plant to use a fluidized bed reactor.

The success of their collaboration with Alliant Energy paved the way for Corn Plus to enter into another relationship, one with John Deere Wind Energy. "John Deere has been excited about the potential for wind power for some time now," says Dave Drescher, Vice president, John Deere Wind Energy. "Completion of this wind energy project, paired with Corn Plus' existing fluidized bed reactor is a unique example of how two forms of renewable energy can be used in tandem. Corn Plus is demonstrating innovative leadership in this sector," Drescher adds.

This project, called CP Wind Farm, LLC, is being developed by Renewable Energy Solutions in conjunction with John Deere, and will feature the placement of two, 2.1 megawatt S88 wind turbines in close proximity to the ethanol plant. Renewable Energy Solutions is a wind energy developer that was formed to use wind to increase the efficiencies of other types of renewable energy projects. Corn Plus Cooperative is a member of Renewable Energy Solutions.

According to Dan Moore, director of project development for Renewable Energy Solutions, "Our focus is to develop wind farms in hopes of increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of ethanol plants. This will be our first project at an ethanol plant and we look forward to working with the folks at John Deere Wind Energy." Construction is set to get underway this fall and should be complete by spring of 2007.

Legislative support from the local governmental representatives has helped make this project possible. Senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) contributed her time and energy to help get this project up and running. "I am proud of this bipartisan effort to bring innovative ideas together here in Faribault County," Rosen comments. "With the hard work of some very talented local advocates, we were able to bring new economic development opportunities to the area. This is truly an example of renewable energy serving renewable energy. I hope we can serve as an example to other entities and bring more collaborative alternative energy efforts together." Representative Bob Gunther (R-Fairmont) adds, "Renewable energy is a valuable asset in this area, and to use a renewable to make a renewable has been talked about for many years, but it took Dan Moore to get it done."

About Corn Plus

Corn Plus was formed in 1993 by local area farmers and was one of the first ethanol production plants in the state of Minnesota. Corn Plus has installed energy-saving devices to make their ethanol plant one of the most efficient in the nation. Currently, they have a name plate capacity of 45 million gallons per year.

About Renewable Energy Solutions

Renewable Energy Solutions is a company focused on developing wind farms for municipalities and value added commodity production plants. This includes ethanol and bio-diesel plants with more than 6 megawatts of wind energy installed, and more than 20 megawatts under development. Renewable Energy Solutions offers products for alternative energy sources, and has a strong history of research and development.

About John Deere Wind Energy and John Deere Credit

John Deere Wind Energy is a business unit of John Deere Credit, the financial services arm of Deere & Co.  John Deere Credit is one of the largest equipment finance companies in the U.S. with more than 2.3 million accounts and a managed portfolio in excess of $21 billion. In addition to providing retail, wholesale and lease financing to help facilitate the sale of John Deere agricultural, construction, and commercial and consumer equipment, John Deere Credit also offers revolving credit, operating loans to farmers, crop insurance (as an MGA), and debt and equity financing within the wind energy arena. Today, John Deere Credit has approximately 1,700 employees worldwide and has operations in 17 countries.