As we close out the 2024 operating year and prepare for cold weather, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of our CVEC staff. Their dedication positioned our plant to finish the year strong, and we are now preparing for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
We are happy to report that CVEC remains in a robust financial position. Throughout the year, we made significant investments in evaluating growth initiatives, and future strategic projects focused on efficiency, renewal, and growth. As we look ahead, the staff and Board remain focused on diversifying our approach to growth while exploring options for refreshing aging assets. Our emphasis on carbon intensity, overall efficiency, and sustainability will guide our initiatives into the new year. Projects currently under way that will be completed in our first trimester should provide additional Distillers Corn Oil production, and streamline water treatment with a lime centrifuge replacing the labor and cost prohibitive lime press system. These significant advancements in our operations will reduce costs and increase revenue streams.
In line with our goals for sustainability, the CVAC Board continues to explore solar energy solutions as a cost-effective means of powering our operations. Exploration is also underway towards the potential for a steam to electric turbine to potentially reduce electrical demand from the grid. These are a couple of the bigger opportunities as we pursue growth in low carbon markets and innovative pathways for Corn Kernel Fiber, tapping into high-value west coast markets amid growing state programs encouraging sustainable practices. Working toward refreshing assets, much time and effort has been dedicated to exploring new distillation processes that reduce energy usage, and provide potential for measured growth in production.
Investments continued strong performance in 2024. Our increased investment in the Guardian assets, and the benefits we anticipated from this move are beginning to materialize, providing additional income and reinforcing our strategy. Ringneck Energy has made a very strong recovery from last summers incident and lost production. Strong operations and solid income have allowed Ringneck to pay off all initial construction financing, buy back some shares from initial short term investors and retire them. This then condenses the ownership group and increases CVEC’s overall share in the rebalance.
We understand that change can be challenging, and as we prepare for the new year, we are committed to ensuring that every decision reflects our shared goals and vision for the future of ethanol. We invite all shareholders to participate in the ongoing conversations that will shape our strategies and aspirations going forward.
We sincerely appreciate the encouragement and support from our shareholders throughout the year. Let’s continue building on this momentum as we move into 2025 and beyond. I look forward to the annual meeting in January and the opportunity of sharing a clearer pathway to our potential future as we continue to gather data and explore possibilities until then.
