Through a Community-Based Job Training Grant that is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Western Iowa Tech Community College, along with its many partners has created the National Boiler Training and Renewable Fuels Institute to seek out and meet industry needs. We know that one of the workforce challenges confronted by industry is the lack of short-term training programs that will produce more trained technicians in a shorter period of time. According to a joint report released in October 2007 by the Sierra Club, World Watch, and the United Steel Workers of America, the biofuels industry is part of a larger renewable energy infrastructure that could lead to the creation of more than 9,500 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years. 

Spurred by the national goal to produce over 35 billion gallons of ethanol annually by 2035, the tri-state Siouxland region of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota contains one of the nation’s largest concentrations of ethanol plants.

According to industry statistics published by the Renewable Fuels Association, there are 121 ethanol refineries nationwide in 26 states currently producing nearly 6.3 billion gallons annually. An additional 76 biorefineries are under construction and 10 existing biorefineries are being expanded.