SAR in the news

[Jeremy]

Pocahontas company heating up

IDED News- May 2007 Three entrepreneurs in Pocahontas have developed another use for Iowa’s massive corn production. Their company, S.A.R. Biomass Energy Systems has developed highly efficient furnaces that utilize corn as the fuel to heat homes and businesses.

Jason Raveling, SAR co-owner, is bullish on the company’s prospects. “Even at higher corn prices, our furnaces are much more efficient than traditional natural gas or propane fired furnaces,” he says. “The cost per BTU of burning corn is still less than other heating sources.
“For example, one bushel of corn can heat the same amount of space that it takes 5.1 gallons (at $1.35 per gallon) of LP to heat,” says Raveling. “And, this is before we take into account the efficiencies of our furnace.”
The 14-employee SAR is building an additional 10,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space to produce its commercial and residential furnaces. The expansion was aided by a series of tax credits and benefits from the Iowa Department of Economic Development’s Enterprise Zone program.
Now in its third year of operation, SAR currently has 36 dealers in eight states. Raveling estimates that of the nearly 1,000 units in operation, 50 percent have been installed on farms.
The company has also just finished a second trial-run of a corn-fueled grain dryer.
Raveling, who owns SAR along with Theron Anderson and Randy Severson, estimates that drying 5,500 bushels of corn would cost $250 using corn as fuel compared to $740 using LP.
Biomass energy products are providing an alternative to consumers wanting a homegrown energy source.
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S.A.R. Biomass Energy Systems LLC
http://www.sarbiomass.com/