Jack Oswald sees the future, and it’s corn. And wheat. And sugar.

The CEO of San Francisco-based SynGest plans to produce plenty of renewable energy—and profit—from corn cobs, wheat chaffs, sugar cane stocks, wood chips, and other biodegradable materials grown throughout the midwest. Rather than rot, they will be exploited to produce anhydrous ammonia, which in turn will become fuel for the region’s diesel vehicles and harvesting equipment, as well as nitrogen fertilizer for agriculture.

SynGest intends to build more than 20 small plants throughout Iowa to convert the natural materials, known as “biomass,” into energy. Oswald then hopes to erect “hundreds” more plants in seven other agriculture-rich states between North Dakota and Ohio. The biomass utilized in each region will depend on its crops and soil quality.

“Vital to SynGest’s model,” Oswald said, “is locating the processing facilities—on 20-acre lots—near well-maintained airports in rural sections of each state.”

That will allow company executives, consultants, and maintenance staff to easily visit many facilities in a day and enable needed supplies to reach plants quickly.

Ideally, he explained, plants will be built within 40 miles of airfields, “Reliance on general aviation and on the airstrips’ convenience “is the only way we can oversee the far-flung operations with a reasonable number of people”

Reliance on general aviation and on the airstrips’ convenience “is the only way we can oversee the far-flung operations with a reasonable number of people…

“ …If we have a choice between multiple sites that basically are equivalent, and one is closer to an airport, that one will win, because [flying] is how we intend to get around,” Oswald said.

“Within a couple of days, we can hop-hop-hop from one [place] to the next and see them all with the management team, do reviews, and see what’s going on. We’d be able to do that efficiently so that everyone gets a visit. I can save myself a huge amount of time and visit many more sites in a day.”

To get from California to Iowa, Oswald travels commercially—10 times already this year—and must transfer each way. He intends to fly his Cirrus SR22 to Iowa this summer, a six-to eight-hour trip. Oswald’s planned purchase of a single-engine jet would chop that flying time to three to four hours.

SynGest will build its first facility in Menlo, Iowa (population: 375), breaking ground next autumn. Menlo sits only 50 miles from Des Moines’s international airport, but also has two airfields within 20 miles: in Greenfield and in Guthrie Center. That is important to Oswald in cutting down his driving time in-state.

“The [Guthrie] airport is very important,” said Jason White, executive director of the Midwest Partnership Development Corporation, which is helping to facilitate the project. “You need transportation—not just rail and the interstate to haul the project, but [airports for] businesspeople who want to come in and maybe partner in some way.”

White said that people in the region feel “a lot of anticipation” regarding the SynGest plans and “want it to happen faster” than it is.

Oswald said that he is impressed by the number of GA airports in Iowa and by their fine condition. Many, he said, have long runways, which are desirable for accommodating jets carrying heavy machinery needed for maintenance. Each plant will operate around the clock, 48 weeks annually, and severe losses would ensue for every additional hour it idles while waiting for parts to arrive, he said. “You need transportation—not just rail and the interstate to haul the project, but [airports for] businesspeople who want to come in and maybe partner in some way.”

“You need transportation—not just rail and the interstate to haul the project, but [airports for] businesspeople who want to come in and maybe partner in some way.”

The other side of the coin, Oswald added, is that Iowa will benefit greatly from his company’s presence: construction jobs created, expenditures on daily operations, sales of biomass raw materials, provision of skilled employment, spin-off spending, and tax revenues generated.

Each facility will cost $100 million to construct, will employ 40 people directly and 150 people indirectly when it’s up and running, and will mean $7 million in biomass purchased annually from local farmers. “The economic boom is enormous,” Oswald said.

“We always look to see: Where are the airports? How are the runways?”

We’re getting overtures from the communities that want us to build there,” he added. “Pretty often, they mention the local, county, or regional airport. That’s often brought up, which is a smart tactic by them.” — By Hillel Kuttler