Ethanol plant delayed

A Colorado-based company is delaying the opening of its ethanol plant in Soperton. One year ago Range Fuels broke ground on the nation's first cellulosic ethanol plant in Soperton. It was supposed to be finished by the end of the year. Now design changes and construction delays mean the first ethanol will not flow until 2010.
Range Fuels CEO, Dave Aldous, says they are still committed to the project and that a recent plunge in oil prices will not change their plans.

"Hopefully the lower oil price doesn't distract too many people in the short term from the long term objectives of energy independence, because the price will go up."

Soperton is also called the 'Million pines City.' Cellulosic ethanol is made by turning wood waste into fuel. The plant expects to employ 100 people when it opens.

New jobs and investment land in south Georgia

50 jobs and an investment of 15-million dollars is on the way to south Georgia, near the Florida border. A plant that will produce wood pellets and chips will be located in Thomas County. Woodlands Alternative Fuels bought a facility formerly owned by Waverly Minerals. Wood pellets will be made for fuel and horse bedding. About 60-percent of the fuel pellets will be made for the export market for use in power plans.

Range Fuels Ethanol Plant

Soperton, Georgia is known as the, "Million Pines City." Now a new ethanol plant there is 100-million dollars closer to completion.
Colorado-based Range Fuels broke ground on their ethanol plant last November. At the time they secured 82-million dollars in funding from the United States Department of Energy and the State of Georgia.
Now the company has raised 100-million more in private financing. The money will be used to complete construction on the cellulosic ethanol plant in Soperton. Range Fuels will convert leftover wood waste into fuel, using their own thermo-chemical technology. They chose Georgia because of the large amount of timber here.
Ethanol made from timber is expected to be much cheaper than ethanol made from corn. The U.S. has tons of available timber waste each year. The facility is expected to open in 2009 and will produce 20-million gallons of ethanol a year.