BLAIR, Neb.—Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik encouraged Americans to pursue sustainable, efficient energy options such as wind power and ethanol during a visit to a Danish outpost in Nebraska on Tuesday.
The crown prince said environmentally friendly businesses seem to be one of the few areas of the economy that are thriving now, so the United States should invest in them.
“This is not the time to put off doing this,” Frederik said.
The crown prince and his wife, Mary, must have felt comfortable at Dana College in Blair because the college, which was founded by Danes, features a red and white logo similar to the Danish flag. The royal couple helped mark the college’s 125th anniversary and attended a Danish company’s groundbreaking on a new ethanol enzyme plant being built just south of Blair.
The crown prince told the crowd at the groundbreaking about how Denmark decided to invest in sustainable power during a recession in the 1970s, and those investments are paying off.
“Today we are among the most energy efficient countries in the world,” he said.
Roughly 28 percent of Denmark’s energy supply comes from renewable energy sources, and the government’s long-term goal is to become independent of fossil fuels.
The crown prince said Denmark remains an economically competitive nation because of its efforts to develop more efficient power, not in spite of them. He said the Danish use less than half the energy Americans do per capita, yet people in both nations enjoy similar lifestyles.
Tuesday’s visit was the third time in Dana College’s 125-year history that the college has hosted Danish royalty. The college gave the crown prince an honorary doctoral degree, and during one of his speeches he wore a black graduation robe that mostly concealed the light blue aluminum crutches he continues to use because he hurt his left leg during a ski vacation.
The crown prince said Dana is one of only two U.S. colleges founded by Danish immigrants, so he considers it a special place.
“This truly is a place where futures are defined,” Frederik said.
He said Dana is a symbol of the strong ties between the United States and Denmark, which date to 1791.
“While the relationship between the Denmark and the United States has always been good, it has never been better than it is today,” he said.
Dana student body president Ernesto Bueno said he was impressed by the prince during his speeches, and Bueno left the event inspired.
“It made me kind of want to change and be more environmentally savvy,” said Bueno, who is from Salt Lake City.
At the groundbreaking ceremony later, the Danish company Novozymes said it is spending $160 million to $200 million on the plant, which is expected to eventually employ about 100 people when it is complete in 2011.
The investment is twice the amount discussed last summer when Novozymes announced the plant would be built on a 30-acre site south of Blair. Novozymes officials decided to increase the capacity of the Blair plant so the company will be prepared for the ethanol boom they expect in the years ahead.
“We believe that our long-term prospects are so positive we are going to be building an even larger plant,” said Lars Hansen, president of Novozymes North American.
The enzymes that Novozymes plans to make in Blair help ethanol makers convert plants into fuel. Enzymes are strings of protein that can serve as catalysts in many natural and manmade processes. Those include breaking down starch in plants such as corn—a vital step in ethanol production.
Novozymes is also a player in the emerging cellulosic ethanol business, and it is working with the nation’s largest ethanol company, Poet LLC, on a pilot cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, that is expected to begin operating in 2011.
Blair was chosen for the Novozymes plant because the location is close to the raw materials it needs and close to the company’s customers. Plus, Nebraska offered relatively cheap electrical power for the plant, and on Tuesday, Gov. Dave Heineman awarded an $810,000 grant to Blair to help pay for infrastructure to support the plant.
Novozymes, which is based in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, says it makes more than 700 products and employs about 5,000—half of which are based in Denmark.
The royal couple also planned to attend a dinner with several Omaha business leaders Tuesday night in Omaha.
Aside from Nebraska, the couple are scheduled to visit Chicago, Colorado and New York as part of their five-day visit to the United States.
———
On the Net:
Novozymes:
Dana College:
