Southridge Ethanol - Proposed Ethanol Plant List

Proposed Ethanol Plant List: 2008 United States & Canada

By Kris Bevill, Hope Deutscher, Timothy Charles Holmseth, Marc Hequet, Jessica Ebert, Bryan Sims, Susanne Retka Schill and Craig A. Johnson

PACIFIC

Treasure Valley Renewable Resources LLC
Location: Ontario, Oregon
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: wheat/barley/corn
Capacity: 30 MMgy
Design/build team: Bratney Cos.
Synopsis: This $75 million facility will use fractionation technology, separating protein for food ingredients and starch for ethanol production. “We’re taking all the value out of the grain for human consumption,” says company manager John Hamilton. Equity has been raised for the project, and permitting and zoning are complete.

Inland Pacific Energy Center LLC
Location: Stanfield, Oregon
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 120 MMgy
Design/build team: Bratney Cos.
Synopsis: This $1 billion project, which includes biodiesel facilities, is expected to take 10 years to develop, although groundbreaking for the first ethanol plant and first biodiesel plant is expected this spring. In its entirety, the project will consist of three 40 MMgy ethanol plants adjacent to three 32 MMgy biodiesel plants, which will use canola oil as a feedstock. A feed mill will also be located on-site, blending several feed ingredients and coproducts to make a complete livestock feed. A biopower facility will create steam and electricity from the gasification of biomass, wheat straw and demolition waste. After initially looking for funding from local investors, the company abandoned that strategy to court major sources. “That’s looking very definite,” says Project Manager Bob Doughty. The company expected to complete its equity and debt funding in February.

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Santa Maria, California
Target groundbreaking: late 2008
Feedstock: multigrain
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: Praj Industries Ltd./C.J. Schneider Engineering Co./Austin AECOM
Synopsis: American Ethanol has raised the initial seed capital for the project, which is expected to cost $2.10 to $2.50 per gallon of ethanol, according to President Dave Baskett. The company is currently raising bridge capital, which will keep things running while the institutional financing is secured, he explained. “Strategy No. 1 is to mitigate commodity risk,” he says. “No. 2 is to show that we are one of the top-tier projects.” To that end, this destination plant will use treated wastewater in the process and is expected to have the “lowest [British thermal unit] and energy consumption on the planet,” Baskett says. The company plans to use corn as the initial feedstock, and branch out into wheat and other grains later.

CE&P Imperial Valley I LLC
Location: Brawley, California
Target groundbreaking: January 2009
Feedstock: sugarcane
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: Washington Division of URS Corp./Dedini Industrias de Base
Synopsis: CE&P is currently raising equity for this Imperial Valley project and has opened discussions with senior lenders and potential equity providers. “Strangely enough, we haven’t had any problems raising up-front equity,” says Jeff Lee, president of CE&P. “The fundamental economics, logic and politics of building plants that use sugarcane is that much stronger.” The plant will process sugarcane supplied by Batley Farms. The stalks will be shredded to release the juices, which will be converted to ethanol. The remaining fiber will be burned to produce electricity.

Cilion Inc.
Location: Famoso, California
Target groundbreaking: second quarter 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: Praj Industries Ltd.
Synopsis: Cilion is in the final environmental permitting stages for the $100 million project, including the drafting of an environmental impact report. Steam from certain processes will be diverted and run through a turbine to generate electricity. In addition, the plant will recycle its water and isn’t expected to have any discharge, according to Karri Hammerstrom, Cilion’s manager of environmental permitting and legislative development. To date, the project hasn’t been challenged by roadblocks to raising equity. “We have a huge amount of capital and haven’t had to pull down debt,” Hammerstrom says. “We’ve put a great team together, and they’ve done a really good job with that.”

Genahol LLC
Location: California
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: municipal solid waste
Capacity: 10 MMgy
Design/build team: Genahol LLC
Synopsis: The company is currently in the process of selecting a site. Genahol’s technology is based on the gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW) and the subsequent conversion of that syngas into ethanol using a catalyst designed in-house. “This project has been on the radar for a number of years, but until California gets its regulations set up for conversion technologies, it’s going to be a long process,” says Don Bogner, president of Genahol.

Great Valley Ethanol
Location: Hanford, California
Target groundbreaking: summer 2008
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 60 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project is waiting for final approvals at the city level, according to Brian Pellens, chief operating officer for Great Valley Energy, owners of Great Valley Ethanol. The air permits are ready for public review, and the environmental impact review has been completed. The company is in the early stages of procuring equity. “Really what we’re looking at is being on line in 2010, so that’s pretty far out,” Pellens says. “We think things are going to be quite a bit different then.”

Rose City Renewables
Location: Wasco, California
Target groundbreaking: fall 2008
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 60 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Also owned by Great Valley Energy, Rose City Renewables is waiting for final approvals at the city level. The air permits are ready for public review, and the environmental impact review has been completed. The company is preparing for an equity drive with an expected start-up date in 2010.

ClearFuels Technology Inc.
Location: Kauai, Hawaii
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: sugarcane bagasse
Capacity: undeclared
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project will be located adjacent to Kauai Ethanol LLC’s plant in Kaumakani. The bagasse fiber will be produced at Kauai Ethanol and transferred to a storage facility from which it will be metered directly into this plant. ClearFuels has procured enough venture capital investments to cover the engineering and design phases of this project, says Chief Technology Officer Robert Shleser. The company is currently in the permitting phases.

Kauai Ethanol LLC
Location: Kaumakani, Hawaii
Target groundbreaking: September 2008
Feedstock: sugarcane/molasses
Capacity: 12 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: “This is probably going to be the first sugar-based ethanol plant in the United States,” says Scott Matsuura, vice president of public and government affairs for Kauai Ethanol. The project site has been secured, and the feedstock for the plant will be supplied by the Gay & Robinson Sugar Plantation. The company is in the process of obtaining building permits and has secured equity, Matsuura says.

Pacific Biofuels and Energy Corp.
Location: Oahu, Hawaii
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: switchgrass
Capacity: 15 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to project spokesman Sam Monet, plans are moving forward, albeit slowly. “All the big players are on the sidelines watching,” he says. “When the value of ethanol becomes greater than the value of sugar, we’ll get off the ground.”

MOUNTAIN

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Butte, Montana
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The project has received the necessary permits and at press time planned to have a pilot plant on line by April. The success of the pilot plant will help to determine future plans, which may include cellulosic ethanol production. According to project spokesman Andy Foster, future feedstocks won’t be “one or the other.” He also says his company is optimistic about grant proposals that the company has submitted.

Montana Ethanol Co. LLC
Location: Great Falls, Montana
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: wheat/barley
Capacity: 125 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to company spokesman Gary Hebener, land has been procured and is fully permitted. Right now, the company is reviewing technology providers, and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.

Great Western Ethanol
Location: Evans, Colorado
Target groundbreaking: May 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 108 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp./Austin AECOM
Synopsis: The financial package and EPC contract were being finalized in February. All site and permit requirements have been completed, and the company intends to begin construction as early as May 1.

Genahol LLC
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Target groundbreaking: June 2008
Feedstock: MSW
Capacity: 26 MMgy
Design/build team: Genahol LLC
Synopsis: This proposed facility is designed to handle as much as 2,000 tons of MSW per day, including paper, plastic and lumber residue. At press time, the company was finalizing a site for the plant and planning to start the permitting process in early March. A grant from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality will aid in the procurement of feedstocks, says Genahol President Don Bogner. The company is pursuing a combination of private equity and tax-exempt bonds to finance the $65 million project.

NORTH CENTRAL-WEST

North Dakota Ethanol Complex LLC
Location: Williston, North Dakota
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 15 MMgy
Design/build team: Makad Construction Co.
Synopsis: Tawni Camarillo, a project director with Makad Construction, says this project will be pursued once the company makes progress on its project in the northwestern United States. It is currently building Northwest Renewable LLC in Longview, Wash., which is expected to come on line in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Yellowstone Ethanol
Location: Williston, North Dakota
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: ICM Inc.
Synopsis: According to Project Coordinator Mike Daly, the plant has applied for permits and is awaiting approval while getting financing in place. The facility will cogenerate 14.5 megawatts of power, which will be sold to Basin Electric Power Co-op.

Wagner Native Ethanol LLC
Location: Wagner, South Dakota
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: This facility, located in the Yankton Sioux Tribe region of southeastern South Dakota, will be minority-owned by Native Americans. Company founder Charlie Columbe is also a member of the South Dakota Rosebud tribe. The plant will be fired with biomass, such as corn stover, rather than coal and natural gas, says Project Coordinator Bill Riechers. He says the company decided to use biomass because there isn’t a natural gas line close to the plant. Plus, the plant can receive energy tax credits through 2012 by using nonfossil fuels.

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Sutton, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This American Ethanol plant has all of its permits, and the company will be carefully observing the operation of its pilot plant in Butte, Mont., which aims to be on line by April. Information gleaned at the pilot plant will play a role in determining future plans for this sister facility, which may include cellulosic ethanol production. Some grant funding is outstanding, but the company is confident of its arrival.

Central Bio-Energy LLC
Location: Chase County, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to spokesman Brett Frevert, permits are in hand, and institutional investors are being secured. As soon as equity funding is in place, dirt work will begin, he says. This will be the second of three plants built by Central Bio-Energy. Proposed plants are also located in Howard and Seward counties, Neb.

Central Bio-Energy LLC
Location: Howard County, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to spokesman Brett Frevert, the company has secured permits and is looking to raise equity. As soon as funding is in place, dirt work will begin, he says. This will be the first of three plants built by Central Bio-Energy. Proposed plants are also located in Chase and Seward counties, Neb.

Central Bio-Energy LLC
Location: Seward County, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to spokesman Brett Frevert, land has been procured, and the feasibility study is complete. Central Bio-Energy will build plants in Howard and Chase counties prior to ramping up efforts at this site.

DeWeese BioFuels LLC
Location: Fairfield, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: cellulose
Capacity: 20 MMgy to 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: With the EISA's demand for 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuel by 2022, the company intends to use cellulosic materials to produce ethanol to meet the mandate, says member manager Clay Rawhouser. The company originally planned to use corn as a feedstock.

E Energy Auburn
Location: Auburn, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: E Energy Group is partnering with Rawhide Management LLC to build two plants in Nebraska, according to E Energy Group Copresident Bud Olsson. At press time, Rawhide Management was raising equity for both plants. Olsson says the project will advance quickly once financing is in place.

E Energy Broken Bow
Location: Broken Bow, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: E Energy Group is partnering with Rawhide Management LLC to build this plant and another in Auburn, Neb., according to E Energy Group Copresident Bud Olsson. At press time, Rawhide Management was raising equity for both plants. Olsson says the project will advance quickly once financing is in place.

Hallam Ethanol LLC
Location: Lancaster County, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: cellulose
Capacity: 20 MMgy to 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: With the EISA's demand for 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuel by 2022, the company intends to use cellulosic materials to produce ethanol to meet the mandate, says member manager Clay Rawhouser. The company originally planned to use corn as a feedstock.

Panda Ethanol Inc.
Location: Wallace, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to Bill Pentak, Panda Ethanol director of communications, this facility has acquired air permits and is waiting for the financial environment to improve. Pentak stresses that Panda Ethanol will remain committed to all of its proposed projects.

Panhandle Ethanol LLC
Location: Bayard, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: cellulose
Capacity: 20 MMgy to 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: This project is moving forward with plans to use cellulosic feedstocks to produce ethanol, says member manager Clay Rawhouser. The company originally planned to use corn as a feedstock.

Plymouth Ethanol
Location: Jefferson County, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: cellulose
Capacity: 20 MMgy to 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: This project is moving forward with plans to use cellulosic feedstocks to produce ethanol, says member manager Clay Rawhouser. The company originally planned to use corn as a feedstock.
Republican Valley Ethanol LLC
Location: Superior, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: cellulose
Capacity: 20 MMgy to 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: This project is moving forward with plans to use cellulosic feedstocks to produce ethanol, says member manager Clay Rawhouser. The company originally planned to use corn as a feedstock.

Rosalie Area Ethanol LLC
Location: Rosalie, Nebraska
Target groundbreaking: spring 2009
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: The plant will be within the boundaries of the Omaha Indian Reservation but located on fee-simple land, says Project Coordinator Bill Riechers.

Boot Hill Biofuels LLC
Location: Wright, Kansas
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: ICM Inc.
Synopsis: A company spokesman says the project is attempting to raise equity, and a change in the industry’s financial environment may jump-start development in 2008. The company hopes to move forward by the end of the year.

Dial Ford County Bio-Renewable Fuels LLC
Location: Dodge City, Kansas
Target groundbreaking: 2008
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 113 MMgy
Design/build team: Kiewit Energy Co./Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: Dial Bio-Renewable Fuels is the managing partner in this Dodge City venture, says company President David Wehner. The project will be built in three stages: The first stage is a 113 MMgy ethanol plant, the second stage is a 60 MMgy biodiesel plant, and the third stage will double the ethanol plant’s capacity, depending on market conditions.

Panda Ethanol Inc.
Location: Haskell County, Kansas
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 105 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to Panda Ethanol Director of Communications Bill Pentak, this facility has received its air permits, but it is waiting for the industry’s financial environment to improve before moving forward.

Agassiz Energy LLC
Location: Erskine, Minnesota
Target groundbreaking: early summer 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: KL Process Design Group
Synopsis: Agassiz Energy President Don Sargeant says he expects the review of permits to be finished in March. If permitting is accepted, then a capital solution will begin.

Cannon River Clean Fuels
Location: Hampton Township, Minnesota
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 40 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The Hampton Township Board turned down this project, citing township zoning rules. An equity drive has been suspended, and Project Coordinator Lynnea Sjoquist says the group is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Glacial Lakes Energy LLC
Location: Madison, Minnesota
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to Project Manager Todd Emslander, the project is on hold due to the industry’s changing market.

Glenville West Ethanol
Location: Glenville, Minnesota
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 65 MMgy
Design/build team: Poet Design & Construction
Synopsis: This facility will be built near Poet Biorefinery-Glenville East, which currently produces 45 MMgy near Albert Lea, Minn.

Highwater Ethanol LLC
Location: Lamberton, Minnesota
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: All permits and funding are in place, and plant officials are waiting for the ground to thaw before starting dirt work, according to company spokesman Brian Kletscher. “We look forward to becoming part of the ethanol industry,” he says.

MinnErgy LLC
Location: Olmstead County, Minnesota
Target groundbreaking: fall 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: At press time, an equity drive was slated to begin in March. “We’re finalizing our permitting with the state of Minnesota,” says Chairman Dan Arnold.

Amaizing Energy Atlantic LLC
Location: Atlantic, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: Forms have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and construction of the $195 million plant should begin sometime in 2008. According to Plant Manager Sam Cogdill, the biggest obstacle that the company faces right now is correcting public perceptions that ethanol plants lose money. He also says the passage of the EISA gives his project a greater chance of success, but the price of corn is still an issue.

Big River Resources Grinnell LLC
Location: Grinnell, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: The project has been suspended until litigation regarding land usage between the county and the company is settled.

Chief Energy Co. LLC
Location: Sergeant Bluff, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: Vice President Roger Lloyd says the company is having trouble financing this $193 million project. “We think we are dangerously close to opening, but we thought that at this time last year, too,” he says, adding that permits are in place, and progress has been made since last year, but there is still a long way to go.

Dexter Ethanol LLC
Location: Dexter, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 108 MMgy
Design/build team: Agra Industries/Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: This $200 million project is “very close to financial close,” says Chris Miller, owner and chief executive officer of Alpha Holdings LLC, a major partner in this project and another in Tama, Iowa. He says the facility has employed nontraditional strategies to raise funds, and has been working with private investors and insurance companies.

Floyd Valley Ethanol LLC
Location: Hinton, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: fall 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: NewMech Cos. Inc.
Synopsis: Craig Conner, vice president of finance for Baard Renewables, a partner in this $200 million project, says the company continues to raise funds. “Like all the other ethanol plants, we’re waiting for equity,” he says. The biggest obstacle right now in raising money is the high cost of corn, and the company has expanded its equity search to include possible international funding due to equity drying up in the United States.

Global Ethanol LLC
Location: Belmond, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: Board Chairman Dave Nelson says this $200 million project is on hold until the industry’s “market straightens out.” In other words, the board would like to see corn prices stabilize before moving forward. For now, Nelson says the company is focusing on a $30 million expansion at its existing facility in Riga, Mich.

Harvest BioFuels LLC
Location: Galbraith, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: fall 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Permits and corn suppliers are in place, says Chief Executive Officer Bob Payne. Financing is being completed, and construction will begin immediately after that. Payne says the company couldn’t have gotten this far without the passing of the EISA. This plant will be the first of three identical ethanol plants to be built by Harvest BioFuels.

Harvest BioFuels LLC
Location: Garner, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: fall 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Permits and corn suppliers are in place, says Chief Executive Officer Bob Payne. Financing is being completed, and construction will begin immediately after that. Payne says the company couldn’t have gotten this far without the passing of the EISA. This plant will be the second of three identical ethanol plants to be built by Harvest BioFuels.

Harvest BioFuels LLC
Location: Gilmore City, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: fall 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Permits and corn suppliers are in place, says Chief Executive Officer Bob Payne. Financing is being completed, and construction will begin immediately after that. Payne says the company couldn’t have gotten this far without the passing of the EISA. This plant will be the third of three identical ethanol plants to be built by Harvest BioFuels.

Monona County Ethanol LLC
Location: Blencoe, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: summer 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: C.J. Schneider Engineering Co./Praj Industries Ltd.
Synopsis: John Kant, director of public relations for Midwest Ethanol Producers LLC, says the company is seeking permission from county commissioners to shut down roads in preparation for Union Pacific Railroad to install a 9,000-foot acceleration/deceleration line next to the main track entering the plant.

Prairie Creek Ethanol LLC
Location: Wesley, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: summer 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: Gold Eagle Co-op in Goldfield, Iowa, is the driving force behind this project. Co-op General Manager Brad Davis says the equity drive for the $120 million plant is currently in limbo but should resume this spring when the group will focus on local investors. Recent downturns in the public’s perception of ethanol, as well as concerns about corn origination, will make raising equity more challenging.

Red Rock Renewables
Location: Pleasantville, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: March 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc./ICM Inc.
Synopsis: At press time, the company was in the middle of its SEC filing. Company Chairman Paul Lopez says the ethanol project is spearheaded by a group of local businesspeople.

River/Gulf Energy LLC
Location: Buffalo, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Company President Rich Goldstein says this project is continuing to work on its equity drive, which may be aided by the passage of the EISA. However, he acknowledges that high corn prices and low ethanol prices are hindering financing. The company is actively seeking a partner for this project. River/Gulf Energy is part of a group of businesses that includes River Gulf Grain Co., a scrap metal business, a barge company and river terminals.

Tama Ethanol LLC
Location: Tama, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 108 MMgy
Design/build team: Agra Industries/Delta-T Corp
Synopsis: Financing is almost complete, and groundbreaking should occur this spring, according to Chris Miller, owner and chief executive officer of Alpha Holdings LLC, a major partner in this project. The $200 million plant is one of two projects being undertaken by Alpha Holdings. The other plant is located in Dexter, Iowa.

Vision Fuels Holdings Co. LLC
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Vision Fuels is in the process of raising equity for this facility after sister projects in Boone and Liscomb, Iowa, were discontinued. Chief Executive Officer and President Dan Cornelison says funding is difficult to obtain right now, but he is optimistic that the company will be successful.

Bootheel Agri-Energy LLC
Location: Sikeston, Missouri
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: A company spokeswoman says SEC Registration Form SB-2 was withdrawn, and the project is on hold.

Ozark Ethanol LLC
Location: Nevada, Missouri
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: The company is currently conducting an equity drive.

SOUTH CENTRAL-WEST

Bionol Lake Providence
Location: Lake Providence, Louisiana
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 108 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: A site has been secured, and all permitting is complete. Initial dirt work has begun at the site, which is located on the banks of the Mississippi River. The company intends to complete funding soon.

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Allen Station, Texas
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This American Ethanol project has all of its permits, and the company will be carefully observing the operation of its pilot plant in Butte, Mont., which aims to be on line by April. Information gleaned at the pilot plant will play a role in determining future plans for this sister facility, which may include cellulosic ethanol. Some grant funding is outstanding, but the company is confident of its arrival.

LoneStar Ethanol
Location: Port of Victoria, Texas
Target groundbreaking: summer 2008
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The company has received a wastewater permit, and the air permit is in the “approval chain,” according to a company spokesman. A target completion date is slated for the first quarter of 2010.

Panda Ethanol Inc.
Location: Muleshoe, Texas
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 105 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to Panda Ethanol Director of Communications Bill Pentak, this facility has secured an air permit, but it is waiting for the industry’s financial environment to improve before moving forward.

The majority of proposed ethanol projects don’t have, or have not announced, a design/build team at this time. Of those that have named a design/build team, the names that top the list are familiar to the industry: Fagen Inc., ICM Inc., Delta-T Corp. and Praj Industries. Fagen/ICM projects make up 27 percent of the proposed projects, with ICM alone responsible for another 11 percent. Fagen and ICM have built approximately 50 percent of the ethanol plants currently producing in the United States. Praj Industries is connected to 9 percent of the proposed projects. Delta-T Corp., despite dealing with legal issues, doesn’t seem to be affected by the negative press, making up 21 percent of the plants on this list. The company has had a hand in 16 percent of the ethanol plants currently operating nationwide.

Panda Ethanol Inc.
Location: Sherman County, Texas
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 105 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to Bill Pentak, Panda Ethanol director of communications, this facility has secured an air permit and is waiting for the financial environment to improve. Pentak stresses that Panda Ethanol will remain committed to all of its proposed projects.

NORTH CENTRAL-EAST

River Valley Energy LLC
Location: Arena, Wisconsin
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: At press time, this project was in the process of finalizing all permitting issues, according to Karl Beth, spokesman for United Co-op, the managing member of River Valley Energy. Additionally, all zoning and conditional-use permits have been approved by the local township and county authorities.

Sharon Ethanol LLC
Location: Sharon, Wisconsin
Target groundbreaking: June 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 108 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project, owned by parent company Global Renewable LLC, completed permitting and zoning requirements, according to Director Jeffery Knight. The 187-acre site will include three rail loops. In addition to rail, the company will use trucks to move feedstock and finished products to and from the facility. Knight says the company is considering fractionation on the front end of the ethanol production process and the integration of windmills as a secondary power source.

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Danville, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 118 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project has all of its permits, and the company will be carefully observing the operation of its pilot plant in Butte, Mont., which aims to be on line by April. Information gleaned at the pilot plant will play a role in determining future plans for this sister facility, which may include cellulosic ethanol. Some grant funding is outstanding, but the company is confident of its arrival.

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Dwight, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 118 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project has all of its permits, and the company will be carefully observing the operation of its pilot plant in Butte, Mont., which aims to be on line by April. Information gleaned at the pilot plant will play a role in determining future plans for this sister facility, which may include cellulosic ethanol. Some grant funding is outstanding, but the company is confident of its arrival.

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Gilman, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 118 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project has all of its permits, and the company will be carefully observing the operation of its pilot plant in Butte, Mont., which aims to be on line by April. Information gleaned at the pilot plant will play a role in determining future plans for this sister facility, which may include cellulosic ethanol. Some grant funding is outstanding, but the company is confident of its arrival.

American Ethanol Inc.
Location: Stillman Valley, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 118 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project has all of its permits, and the company will be carefully observing the operation of its pilot plant in Butte, Mont., which aims to be on line by April. Information gleaned at the pilot plant will play a role in determining future plans for this sister facility, which may include cellulosic ethanol. Some grant funding is outstanding, but the company is confident of its arrival.

The Andersons Ethanol Champaign LLC
Location: Champaign, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: ICM Inc.
Synopsis: Neil McKinstray, general manager of the ethanol division of The Andersons Inc., says this facility will be adjacent to the company’s existing grain terminal.

Illini Ethanol LLC
Location: Royal, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The site has been purchased, and all permits have been obtained. All necessary and associated environmental paperwork is complete. The company still needs to complete financing, and an EPC contractor needs to be selected.

Midwest Agri-Energy Production LLC
Location: Salem, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This project has been hindered in the financing stage but plans to continue. Project Developer Kevin Greene says the company is hoping to complete its financing package, but he acknowledges that without public financial support, it will affect scheduling to some degree.

Mt. Carmel Ethanol LLC
Location: Mt. Carmel, Illinois
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: Lurgi Inc.
Synopsis: A fractionation process supplied by Cereal Process Technologies LLC will be implemented at this facility. The location is ideal because it sits on the Norfolk Southern rail line. It is also near a coal mine, which could allow the facility to install a coal-fired boiler, according to company spokesman Joe Siegert. The site also

Genahol LLC
Location: Canton, Ohio
Target groundbreaking: spring 2009
Feedstock: MSW/construction waste
Capacity: 27 MMgy
Design/build team: Genahol LLC
Synopsis: According to Genahol President Don Bogner, the company hasn’t started to raise funds for this project yet. It expects to complete permitting this year.

Green Harvest Energy LLC
Location: Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiania counties, Ohio
Target groundbreaking: late summer or early fall 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: Green Harvest Energy President John Monroe says he is currently contacting a number of prospective investors.

Harrison Ethanol LLC
Location: Cadiz, Ohio
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 20 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This plant is in its due diligence period, according to a company spokeswoman. Permitting, zoning and all funding is complete, and the site is prepared for full construction.

Mercer Energy Inc.
Location: Celina, Ohio
Target groundbreaking: spring or summer 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: According to Mercer Energy President Ryan Schwieterman, this project received its permits at the end of 2007. Mercer Energy will employ corn fractionation technology, and utilize the local highway and rail infrastructure to bring in feedstock and send out the finished products. The company intends to market its corn oil through a Illinois-based marketer.

SOUTH CENTRAL-EAST

Bluegrass BioEnergy LLC
Location: Fulton, Kentucky
Target groundbreaking: second quarter 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Project organizers were awaiting word on financing at press time and have alternate plans in place if that financing package doesn’t materialize, says Jim Allen, a company founder and past president. The alternate plan is to return to the initial group of farmers and private investors to raise more equity and revert to the original 55 MMgy proposal for which the permits have been acquired. The property was purchased, an official groundbreaking held and site grading begun when rocketing construction costs kept raising the bar on finances. With construction costs a bit more stable, Allen says the project is back on track. Once financing is pinned down, construction will begin.

Buckeye Ethanol LLC
Location: Calvert City, Kentucky
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: “A site has been secured, and the permitting process will begin once the plant in South Point, Ohio, has begun construction,” says Dan Slane, co-owner of The Slane Co. Ltd. Plans include putting ethanol on barges for shipment to Marathon, Fla., via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. In Marathon, the ethanol will be blended and shipped elsewhere.

Mascoma/University of Tennessee
Location: Vonore, Tennessee
Target groundbreaking: fourth quarter 2008
Feedstock: switchgrass
Capacity: 5 MMgy
Design/build: Mascoma Corp.
Synopsis: Mascoma has teamed with the University of Tennessee to develop its biological platform for cellulosic ethanol. The state is supporting the project with $40.7 million for facility development and $8 million for farmer incentives to grow switchgrass. Another $27 million is earmarked for research and development. The site at the Niles Ferry Industrial Park has been secured, and permits have been submitted, according to Justin van Rooyen, director of business development for Mascoma. The 5 MMgy plant, when completed, will be the largest of its kind and will provide the operating experience to scale up Mascoma's process to 40 MMgy in future plants.

Team P3 LLC
Location: Tennessee
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: wood waste/MSW
Capacity: 25 MMgy and 50 MMgy
Design/build team: Team P3 LLC
Synopsis: Team P3 has two cellulosic ethanol plants in development at undisclosed locations in the Southeast, says Chief Engineer Richard Molsbee. “We’re pushing forward," he says. "Nothing has stopped, but we’re trying to stay under the radar." The projects will be using gasification and Fischer-Tropsch technology.

Gulf Coast Energy of Sumter LLC
Location: Livingston, Alabama
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: wood waste
Capacity: 20 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: This is the first of three plants being developed by Gulf Coast Energy Inc. At press time, an agreement with a technology provider was nearly finalized. Scott Hazen, executive vice president of engineering, says the plant will be built at a former plywood manufacturing site, providing some of the necessary wood-handling infrastructure. The 20 MMgy ethanol plant will use gasification and Fischer-Tropsch technology to manufacture liquid fuel from wood waste. Other feedstocks will be considered in the future. A second plant will break ground in Florida this summer, and a third will follow at an undisclosed location. The three plants will be similar in design, starting with 20 MMgy of production and expanding to 60 MMgy.

Tennessee Valley Agri-Energy LLC
Location: Cherokee, Alabama
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: With a feasibility study and business plan completed, paperwork has been filed with the SEC, according to Jeff Kistner, vice president of project finance for BBI International, which is developing the project.

NEW ENGLAND

Atlantic Ethanol LLC
Location: Quonset Point, Rhode Island
Target groundbreaking: early 2009
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: President and Chief Executive Officer John Hamilton reports the project is in the late development stage. The company will soon be applying for air permits and has retained Fieldstone Private Capital Group in New York as a financial advisor.

Corn is still the feedstock of choice for ethanol production. In this year’s proposed plant list, 67 percent of respondents intended to use corn as the primary feedstock. Another 10 percent expected to use corn combined with another feedstock, such as milo or barley. Higher feedstock costs have pushed a few proposed projects toward alternative feedstocks with 7 percent of the projects looking to municipal solid waste (MSW), as one example. There aren’t any currently operating plants that are using MSW as a feedstock.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC

Orange Recycling and Ethanol Production Facility
Location: Middletown, New York
Target groundbreaking: undeclared
Feedstock: MSW
Capacity: 8 MMgy
Design/build team: Harris Group
Synopsis: This plant is now fully permitted as a waste facility.

Northern Ethanol Inc.
Location: Niagara Falls, New York
Target groundbreaking: late 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 106 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The company received approval in late December to construct a plant on a 77-acre brownfield site near Praxair Inc. Although plans to move forward with the company’s Canadian facilities are temporarily delayed, Northern Ethanol is confident in building this U.S. facility and plans to start full production in 2010. The company anticipates that 10 percent to 15 percent of the facility’s corn could be sourced from growers in northwestern New York. Corn will be drawn from Ohio and Ontario growers, as well.

RiverWright Energy LLC
Location: Buffalo, New York
Target groundbreaking: April 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 110 MMgy
Design/build team: KL Process Design Group
Synopsis: The plant will be in a historic district that was once equipped with 10 million bushels of grain storage. One elevator is still functional with 850,000 bushels of capacity. The site is on the Buffalo River with access to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, and significant rail access, as well.

Bionol Clearfield LLC
Location: Clearfield, Pennsylvania
Groundbreaking: February 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 100 MMgy
Design/build team: Fagen Inc.
Synopsis: The first ethanol plant under construction in Pennsylvania will colocate with a cellulosic ethanol pilot plant that will process switchgrass, sugarcane bagasse, wood waste and agricultural waste. The corn-based project has begun initial dirt work, and Fagen was slated to mobilize on-site in March or April at press time.

Cilion Lancaster
Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Target groundbreaking: fall or winter 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: Praj Industries Ltd.
Synopsis: Cilion Inc. has teamed with Lancaster Biofuels on this project, which is currently under environmental review. The proposed plant will be located next to a facility that produces electricity from biomass and will be using that energy, as well as natural gas, to power the plant. The company hasn’t encountered any obstacles in raising funds to date, says Karri Hammerstrom, manager of environmental permitting, legislative development and governmental affairs. “We’ve put together a great team, and they’ve done a really good job with that,” she says. “We have a huge amount of capital and haven’t had to pull down on debt.”

Green Holding Biofuels
Location: Tremont, Pennsylvania
Target groundbreaking: July 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 120 MMgy
Design/build team: Katzen International
Synopsis: In addition to producing ethanol, the plant will process 10 MMgy of biodiesel from corn oil. It will use “waste coal” from nearby coalfields as an energy source. The plant has been permitted for up to 500 MMgy.

Keystone Ethanol Energy Producers LLC
Location: Mercer or Crawford counties, Pennsylvania
Target groundbreaking: late 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 25 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: KEEP will pursue financing once it has officially selected a design/build team. Plant owners also seek approximately $200,000 in grants or low-interest loans.

Sunnyside Ethanol LLC
Location: Curwensville, Pennsylvania
Target groundbreaking: third quarter 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 80 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: Consus Ethanol LLC spokesman Brian Wallace acknowledges the company is having difficulty raising funds but says it has made significant progress.

SOUTH ATLANTIC

Chesapeake Renewable Energy LLC
Location: Sumerset County, Maryland
Target groundbreaking: summer 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMgy
Design/build team: Praj Industries Ltd.
Synopsis: Project Manager Mack Shelor says this project has the potential to be profitable because of its unique configuration. The site is in an agricultural area in Maryland, where the distillers grains will have a ready market among several large poultry producers. The facility will use wood waste to generate power and steam. The combined-heat-and-power plant will generate 19.8 megawatts of electricity, most of which will be consumed on-site, Shelor says, with approximately eight megawatts to be fed into the local power grid. The waste heat and excess electricity will also be used to power an on-site, 30-acre greenhouse. The land has been purchased, the rezoning is approved, permits have been submitted, and the financing is presently being arranged, according to Shelor.

Bleckley County Biorefinery
Location: Bleckley County, Georgia
Target groundbreaking: fourth quarter 2008
Feedstock: wood waste/MSW
Capacity: 20 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The land is acquired, and the permitting process has begun for this cellulosic ethanol project under development by Allied Energy Services LLC, says Warren Oldham, vice president of Allied. Other partners in the project are Allied’s parent and utility management company Cobb Energy Inc. and Integrated Environmental Technologies LLC. The facility will use a thermochemical process to convert the wood and MSW to fuel.

Georgia Alternative Energy Co-op
Location: Turner County, Georgia
Target groundbreaking: late 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 50 MMgy
Design/build: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: This farmer cooperative, formed in August 2006, has 234 members who will be tapped in the project’s coming equity drive. Co-op Director and Project Manager Alan Whitehead says the county zoning is complete, and the project is presently in the permitting stage.

Florida Power and Light Group
Location: central Florida
Target groundbreaking: late 2008
Feedstock: citrus waste
Capacity: 4 MMgy
Design/build team: Citrus Energy LLC
Synopsis: Citrus Energy will use its enzymatic hydrolysis process to convert citrus waste into cellulosic ethanol at a plant to be owned by Florida Power and Light Group. The ethanol plant will utilize waste from a citrus processing facility, says Dave Stewart, chief executive officer of Citrus Energy. Developers are visiting with citrus processors in central Florida and have met with state officials to discuss permitting. Once the final location is determined, the permitting process will begin, Stewart says. Financing is in place.

Gulf Coast Energy of Walton LLC
Location: Mossy Head, Florida
Target groundbreaking: summer 2008
Feedstock: wood waste
Capacity: 20 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Gulf Coast Energy Inc. has three similar cellulosic ethanol plants in development, including this facility, one in Alabama and a third at an undisclosed location. At press time, the agreement with the technology provider was nearly complete. This plant, which will use biomass gasification and Fischer-Tropsch technology, can be expanded to 60 MMgy, says Scott Hazen, executive vice president of engineering for Gulf Coast Energy. The facility will include a biodiesel plant. In addition to wood waste, other cellulosic feedstocks will be evaluated in the future. This winter, the Florida project received a $7 million Farm to Fuel Grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Highlands EnviroFuels LLC
Location: Highland County, Florida
Target groundbreaking: mid-2009
Feedstock: sweet sorghum
Capacity: 20 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: U.S. EnviroFuels LLC received a $7 million Farm to Fuel Grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which will be used for the buildings and equipment, according to U.S. EnviroFuels President Bradley Krohn. The company has begun the design and permitting process. U.S. EnviroFuels is also developing a project in Port Sutton, Fla.

Liberty Industries Inc.
Location: Lowry, Florida
Target groundbreaking: first quarter 2009
Feedstock: wood waste/MSW
Capacity: 7 MMgy
Design/build team: Bioengineering Resources Inc.
Synopsis: At press time, company President Sam Hatcher was awaiting final word on site studies for a proposed energy park. One site would be at Hatcher’s family-owned Liberty Chips Corp., which operates a 100-ton-per-hour wood chip operation in Lowry. Another site would be near the Liberty County landfill and water treatment facilities. Hatcher says his vision is to combine several alternative energy projects in an energy park, starting with an ethanol plant that will use gasification and anaerobic digestion technologies. It will also generate five megawatts of electricity. Once the final site is determined, the permitting process will begin. The project received a $4 million Farm to Fuel Grant from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Port Sutton EnviroFuels LLC
Location: Port Sutton, Florida
Target groundbreaking: mid-2008
Feedstock: corn/milo
Capacity: 44 MMgy
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: The Port Sutton project has been in a holding pattern for 16 months due to litigation with another tenant at the port in Tampa, Fla., says Bradley Krohn, president of U.S. EnviroFuels LLC. “We’re making progress on getting it resolved,” he adds. The project is fully permitted, and financing is in place, although final closing hinges on the resolution of the litigation. Krohn says the project may be built in two phases with the ethanol storage and distribution terminal being built first, and the ethanol production facility to follow. U.S. EnviroFuels has begun design work on another sweet sorghum facility in Highland County.

Southeast Renewable Fuels LLC
Location: near Lake Okeechobee, Florida
Target groundbreaking: first quarter 2009
Feedstock: sweet sorghum
Capacity: 20 MMgy
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The first of three sweet sorghum ethanol plants in the Lake Okeechobee area is in development, according to Chief Executive Officer Aaron Pepper. “We’re hoping to be the first sweet sorghum ethanol plant in Florida or even the United States,” he says. Sites have been procured for the first and second plants. “The first plant will work the bugs out,” he says. “We’ll do the field trials, and once everything is working smoothly, we’ll build the second.” The second and third plants are expected to produce 50 MMgy. Financing is nearly complete for the first plant, Pepper says, and farmers are being recruited to grow sweet sorghum for that project. Losonoco Inc. is helping with project development. In anticipation of potential expanded ethanol capacity, Southeast Renewable Fuels opened an ethanol distribution office at the start of 2008 to serve southern Florida. Pepper says the company is also looking for a port facility to handle domestic and imported ethanol to supply Florida's future renewable fuels market.

CANADA

Growing Power Hairy Hill LLP
Location: Hairy Hill, Alberta
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: wheat
Capacity: 42 MMly (11 MMgy)
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Mike Kotelko, general manager of Growing Power Hairy Hill, is one of two brothers who own an Alberta ranch, a feedlot called Highland Feeders Ltd. and a technology company called Highmark Renewables Inc. The feedlot includes an anaerobic digester that has been in operation for three years. The digester will be expanded 40-fold to provide process heat to the ethanol plant, a move that will more than double its current electrical output to 2.4 megawatts. The biogas facility is slated to expand in February 2009, followed by the ethanol plant coming on line in June 2009. Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta-based Providence Grain Group, a producer-owned and -controlled grain company, is a major investor in the integrated biorefinery. PGG will procure the high-starch wheat needed for the plant.

Nipawin Biomass Ethanol New Generation Co-op Ltd.
Location: Nipawin, Saskatchewan
Target groundbreaking: mid-2009
Feedstock: wood waste/flax straw
Capacity: 75 MMly (20 MMgy)
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: Approximately 500,000 tons of forestry residues such as logging slash, mill wastes (bark), shavings and sawdust, and agricultural wastes such as hay and straw will be generated from the Nipawin area each year. This ethanol facility will require 200,000 dry tons of feedstock per year, 25 percent of which will come from flax straw and 75 percent from wood waste. After eight years of development and looking at nearly 20 catalysts, the company enlisted the help of Fulcrum BioEnergy to design a process using the co-op’s technology. The facility will create 60 to 70 full-time and plant-related jobs.

Etoh Energy LLC
Location: Russell, Manitoba
Target groundbreaking: October 2009
Feedstock: wheat
Capacity: 175 MMly (46 MMgy)
Design/build team: ICM Inc.
Synopsis: This company will process high-starch wheat, which is abundant within a 100-mile radius of the site, according to Curtis Sittenfeld, president of the company’s American managing partner Etoh Energy Marketing Corp. in Naples, Fla. Noble Americas will market the plant’s ethanol in Canada and the United States. Carbon dioxide will be recovered and compressed for use in exhausted, secondary and tertiary oil wells in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The distillers grains will be marketed locally by CHS Inc. as the area has more than 39,000 head of cattle. The facility is currently in the permitting stage.

Turtle Mountain Sustainable Ventures
Location: Killarney, Manitoba
Target groundbreaking: January 2009
Feedstock: wheat
Capacity: 150 MMly (40 MMgy)
Design/build team: undeclared
Synopsis: The initial plan was to produce cellulosic ethanol, but the company decided to use wheat as a feedstock instead. Currently, the company is in the permitting stage. It will take in 15 million bushels of wheat and produce 140,000 tons of distillers grains. The plant will create 35 jobs.

FarmTech Energy Corp.
Location: Oshawa, Ontario
Target groundbreaking: spring 2008
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 55 MMly (15 MMgy)
Design/build team: ICM Inc.
Synopsis: This proposed facility will create 1,000 plant-related jobs during its estimated 20-month building process. All corn will be supplied by local growers, and the facility will be owned by a co-op of community members. Start-up is slated for 2009.

Northern Ethanol Inc.
Location: Sarnia, Ontario
Target groundbreaking: 2009
Feedstock: corn
Capacity: 400 MMly (106 MMgy)
Design/build team: Delta-T Corp.
Synopsis: This project hasn’t been able to advance beyond the permitting stage, according to Natalie Horrell, director of corporate relations. The company has submitted applications for air and noise permits to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and an application for site plan approval to the city of Sarnia. With CSX rail line and barge availability in Sarnia, the company has the ability to receive feedstock from other areas.

Atlantec BioEnergy Inc.
Location: Borden, Prince Edward Island
Target groundbreaking: May 2008
Feedstock: sugar beets
Capacity: 85 MMly (22 MMgy)
Design/build team: Diversified Metals Engineering Ltd.
Synopsis: The original project developer Agritech Inc. was bought out by Atlantec BioEnergy in partnership with the Renewable Energy Growers Association. Atlantec will produce ethanol, as well as thermal and electric energy, and will be the first biofuels facility located in this province.

ethanol news