Former Nebraska State Senator Loren Schmidt was one of the early supporters of an Ethanol Industry in Nebraska. He served in the Legislature from 1969 to 1993 from Bellwood, Nebraska (District 23). Because of Sen. Schmidt's support of ethanol legislation, he is nicknamed the "Godfather of of Ethanol" in Nebraska. Following are some bullet points related to his activity:
- Former NE state senator (24 years)
- Farmer, cattle feeder, aerial applicator, businessman
- Introduced original ethanol legislation in NE in 1971 which established ethanol industry in Nebraska.
- Introduced bills for two decades that resulted in the construction of 8 operational plants and 3 under construction:
- Estimated investment – $1.6 billion, 1050 direct jobs, 4000 indirect jobs
- Created new market for 250 million bushels of corn (annual)
- Introduced legislation which created Dept of Environmental Quality; knows all related statutes intimately, excellent relations with current DEQ officials
- Successfully lobbied for LB 601 in 1999 and LB 536 in 2001x
Senator Schmidt discussed the political players in Nebraska, including Congressman and Governor, Charles Thone. Other players the ethanol supporters had to deal with were the gasoline and oil lobbyists and large elements of the rural interests.
He also pointed out that the production of ethanol isn't new and was utilized during the Civil War for lighting and heat and in World War II for fuel and rubber production.
Today' in Nebraska, there are 25 plants and production has reached 2 billion gallons.
