Key Takeaways
- Conestoga Energy Holdings has announced two milestones: its 20th anniversary since founding in Liberal, Kansas in 2006, and the cumulative production of three billion gallons of low-carbon bioethanol.
- The company manages more than 175 million gallons of annual production capacity across two Kansas facilities and has sequestered over 6.5 million metric tons of CO₂ since beginning carbon capture operations more than 15 years ago.
- Over 20 years, Conestoga has sourced and processed more than one billion bushels of locally grown grain and delivered more than 23 million metric tons of distillers' grain to regional livestock producers.
- In August 2025, Conestoga acquired SAFFiRE Renewables from Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, securing exclusive access to DMR pretreatment technology developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's NREL for producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
- The company completed drilling of its first Class VI carbon sequestration well in 2025, positioning it to permanently store more than one million metric tons of CO₂ annually once fully operational.
Conestoga Energy Reaches Three Billion Gallons and 20 Years of Operation
Conestoga Energy Holdings, one of the United States' leading producers of renewable bioethanol, has announced two simultaneous milestones: its 20th anniversary as a company and the cumulative production of three billion gallons of low-carbon biofuel. Founded in 2006 in Liberal, Kansas, the company today manages more than 175 million gallons of annual production capacity across two Kansas facilities while pursuing sustainable aviation fuel and carbon capture development.
“When we started Conestoga twenty years ago, our goals were simple: first, help American farmers turn their crops into cleaner energy and second, help America obtain energy independence. Reaching three billion gallons is a testament to the dedication of our team, our farmer-partners across Kansas, and the communities that have believed in this mission from day one. We are just getting started,” said Tom Willis, CEO of Conestoga Energy and Chairman of Growth Energy.
From Two Kansas Ethanol Plants to a Fully Integrated Clean Energy Company
Conestoga‘s two founding facilities — Bonanza BioEnergy in Garden City, Kansas, and Arkalon Energy in Liberal, Kansas — came online within a year of the company's founding, together contributing 175 million gallons of annual capacity to the U.S. renewable fuel supply. Over the two decades that followed, the company expanded its model from pure ethanol production into an integrated clean energy operation spanning fuel, feed, carbon capture, and renewable feedstocks.
Over 20 years, Conestoga has sourced and processed more than one billion bushels of locally grown grain from Kansas farm families and cooperatives. The company has delivered more than 23 million metric tons of distillers' grain to regional livestock producers — roughly 1.3 million metric tons annually — and extracted more than 756 million pounds of distillers' corn oil, a renewable feedstock increasingly used in renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel production.
Carbon Capture: 6.5 Million Metric Tons and a New Class VI Well
Conestoga has been capturing CO₂ for more than 15 years, primarily for Enhanced Oil Recovery. Since beginning operations, the company has sequestered over 6.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — equivalent, it says, to removing nearly 1.8 million cars from American roads for a full year. In 2025, the company completed drilling of its first Class VI carbon sequestration well, which it expects to enable permanent storage of more than one million metric tons of CO₂ annually once fully operational.
SAFFiRE Acquisition Positions Conestoga Energy for Sustainable Aviation Fuel
In August 2025, Conestoga acquired SAFFiRE Renewables, LLC from Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures, securing exclusive and perpetual access to Deacetylation and Mechanical Refining (DMR) pretreatment technology developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The technology converts agricultural by-products into bioethanol with a carbon intensity score below negative 100 and is intended to serve as the foundation for the company's SAF production program.
Looking ahead, Conestoga‘s strategy centers on three pillars: continuing to reduce carbon intensity across its existing ethanol operations, advancing cellulosic biofuel and SAF production through the SAFFiRE platform, and expanding its carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration infrastructure for both internal use and third-party partners.
