Overview

The Aurora plant, located on 420 acres about 60 miles north of Sioux Falls and just east of Brookings, produces ethanol, distillers grains livestock feed and fuel- and feed-grade corn oil. Corn is purchased from within 50 miles.

Aurora on the map

Aurora By the Numbers

  • ~65 employees
  • 140 million gallons per year ethanol production capacity
  • 368,000 tons pers year dried distillers grains production
  • 49 million bushels per year corn processing capacity
  • More than $358,000 contributed to the local United Way through employee pledges, additional donations and company matches since 2017
  • $145,000 from the Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children to local charities nominated by employees over the last five years
  • Nearly 7,700 hours volunteered by Aurora plant employees supporting local nonprofits from 2017-2021

By the Numbers

Aurora_overview_desktop

In Our Community

Aurora Employees Give Back

Valero volunteer t-shirt

Volunteer Hours

Nearly 7,700 hours volunteered by Aurora plant employees supporting local nonprofits from 2017-2021. Some of these local charities and events include Harvest Table, Brookings Backpack Project, Brookings County Youth Mentoring Program and Aurora Ditch Cleanup.

Valero Texas Open golf ball

Benefiting Children

A total of $145,000 from the Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children to local charities nominated by employees over the last five years.

Valero Day of Caring 2023

United Way Giving

More than $358,000 contributed to the local United Way through employee pledges, additional donations and company matches since 2017.
 

Valero volunteer planting tree

Environmentally Responsible Operations

Best-in-class environmental performance through reliability, operational excellence, and investments in renewable energy.

Excellence in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Compliance and Discharge, 2018-2019, Aurora plant.

Pending recognition under the EPA’s Efficient Producer Program for superior process efficiency – through reduced on-site energy consumption, increased fuel output and/or use of biomass or biogas from certain sources to reduce process energy greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental Stewardship at Valero

Safety Awards & Honors

Firefighting helmet and equipment

Multiple quarterly Valero STAR Metric awards for achieving no incidents in five key areas of process safety, reliability, environmental, rail safety, and policy and procedure compliance.

Local Information

Farmers Work Hard to Produce and Harvest Corn

At Valero, we work hard to maximize the value of U.S. corn production by connecting farmers to premium markets across the globe.

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Contact Us Plant Manager: Brian Brinkman