http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/business/7861536.htm
Posted on Tue, Feb. 03, 2004 Energy Co. to Build Ethanol Plant in Ohio JOHN SEEWER Associated Press TOLEDO, Ohio - A power company plans to spend about $50 million to build the first ethanol plant in Ohio, the only Midwest state without a facility that turns corn into the gasoline additive. The plant to be built in Coshocton County in east-central Ohio is good news for farmers because it will create another buyer for their corn crops and could drive up corn prices in the state, the nation's seventh-largest corn grower. The plant annually will produce 50 million gallons of ethanol, put in gasoline to reduce air pollution. It will need about 18.8 million bushels of corn from across the state. "You're going to be pulling in corn from all over Ohio," said Don Clark, agri-industry specialist with the Ohio Department of Development. He said corn prices in some areas of the state could increase between 3.5 to 5.5 cents per bushel because of the added demand. Nordic Biofuels, a subsidiary of Nordic Energy Group, will build and operate the plant, said Ed Flynn, executive director of the Coshocton Port Authority. It's expected to employ about 50 workers. The state hopes it will break ground by the end of this year. It normally takes 14-18 months to build a plant of its size, Clark said. Several attempts to build ethanol plants in other parts of the state have been delayed or abandoned because not enough money could be raised. Part of the problem is that corn prices are higher in Ohio than some other Midwest states - putting those who want to start ethanol plants in Ohio at a disadvantage. Most ethanol plants are concentrated in Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. But Ohio has an advantage because of its location, Clark said. It is closer to states on the East Coast such as New York that have banned the gas additive MTBE and replaced it with ethanol. The federal Clean Air Act requires the use of reformulated gasoline in regions that have not met national air-quality standards. To spur construction of ethanol plants in Ohio, Gov. Bob Taft signed a bill in 2002 that created tax breaks and made loans available for those building ethanol plants. Ethanol comes from the fermentation of sugars from corn and other crops and burns cleaner than other fuels. Additives are blended with gasoline to help meet federal clean air regulations and improve performance. ON THE NET Nordic Energy: http://nordicenergy.com/ Ohio Corn Growers Association: http://www.ohiocorn.org/index.htm Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
