Nebraska’s latest ethanol plant could help the state become the nation’s second-largest ethanol producer.
 
Creighton University economics professor Ernie Goss said ethanol plants and the renewable fuels industry played a key role in Nebraska’s economy in 2006, a trend that is likely to continue. The industry has proven especially important in rural areas where most of the plants have been built.

Goss also said for every job created at an ethanol plant, another job is created nearby.
 
The roughly 543 million gallons of ethanol Nebraska’s plants were producing annually in 2006 trailed only Illinois’ 780 million gallons and Iowa’s 1.1 billion gallons, according to the RFA.
 
If the announced new plants and ethanol expansion projects are completed, the RFA estimated that Nebraska’s ethanol production capacity would jump to 1.05 billion gallons a year — more than the 887 million-gallon capacity the trade group expects in Illinois, but still trailing trail the 1.7 billion gallons the RFA expects Iowa to produce.
 
So far, it’s not immediately clear when or if Nebraska might claim the #2 ranking because some of the announced plants the RFA includes in its figures may not become reality, and the trade group might have missed a few announcements.

Wherever an ethanol plant has been located in Nebraska, Gov. Dave Heineman said the local farm economy has been given a boost. About 40-50 permanent jobs were created at the plant, and 120-125 construction workers were employed for a year and a half to build the plant.
 
Energy Grains officials said they have turned down requests from outside investors because they want the plant’s profits to benefit Nebraskans: “This is doing it the hard way,” said Dan Lindstrom of Kearney, a partner in Energy Grains. “We’re interested in doing this the hard way because it’s the right way and better long term for Nebraska.”
 
The company plans to install two thermal oxidizers to reduce odors from the plant.
 

A new $170 million ethanol plant to be built in Wabash County is at least the sixth planned in the region and is expected to open during the last half of 2008.
 
“We are excited to move forward and pleased with Wabash County as a location for one of our ethanol production facilities,“ said Michael A. Comparato Sr., president and CEO of Vieste LLC of Indianapolis.
 
The plant on Indiana 15 near La Fontaine is expected to buy about 30 million bushels of corn from area farmers to produce about 88 million gallons of ethanol a year. It is also projected to provide about 45 jobs.
 
More than 150 U.S. ethanol plants are either under construction, planned or in operation, including 18 in Indiana. In January 2005, the state had just one working ethanol plant. 
 
Nearby Blackford, Madison, Tipton, Huntington and Delaware Counties already have plants in some stage of development.
 

Marathon Oil Corporation and The Andersons, Inc. today jointly announced that the companies will immediately begin construction of an ethanol plant located in Greenville, OH, the first to be constructed by The Andersons Marathon Ethanol LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between the 2 companies.  The project recently received Ohio EPA approval for an air permit needed for plant operation.  The facility will have the annual capacity to produce 110 million gallons of ethanol and 350,000 tons of distillers dried grain (DDG), an animal feed ingredient. The facility could be operational as soon as the first quarter of 2008, employing a workforce of 40 employees.

 
Marathon is the fourth-largest U.S.-based fully integrated international energy company engaged in exploration and production, integrated gas, and refining, marketing and transportation operations.  The Andersons, Inc. is a diversified company with interests in the grain, ethanol, and plant nutrient sectors of U.S. agriculture, as well as in railcar leasing and repair, turf products production, and general merchandise retailing.  The company has operations in seven U.S. states plus rail leasing interests in Canada and Mexico.

Panda Ethanol Inc. signaled its intention this week to build a 100 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant near the city of Muleshoe, TX, and the steam used in the ethanol manufacturing process will be generated by cattle manure.  The completed facility will annually refine approximately 38 million bushels of corn into the biofuel and will gasifying more than 1 billion pounds of cattle manure yearly.  The Muleshoe facility is the sixth, 100-million gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the fourth to be powered by cattle manure.  Panda Ethanol Inc. has received air permits for three of its six announced ethanol projects.

Missouri Valley Renewable Energy has started construction on a ethanol plant in Meckling, SD, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) revealed yesterday in a news release.  The facility will process more than 20 million bushels of corn into 60 million gallons of ethanol and 175,000 tons of distillers dried grains with solubles annually, the RFA said.  The RFA release said that 106 ethanol plants nationwide currently have the capacity to produce more than 5 billion gallons annually. There are 47 ethanol plants and seven major expansions under construction with a combined annual capacity of over 3.5 billion gallons.  In a press release issued today, the RFA announced that a 100-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant near Annawan, IL, is being built by Fagen Inc., the largest builder of ethanol refineries in the nation.  The plant will use 37 million bushels of local corn and produce more than 320,000 tons of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS).  The refinery also will create 50 jobs.