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.

17-mill goes to rural counties' economic development

More than 17-million dollars in grant money was awarded today to help kick-start economic development in rural areas of Georgia.

The money comes from the OneGeorgia Authority, which uses tobacco settlement money to help less-populated counties and towns attract new companies. It also helps expand existing business, and boost public infrastructure.

Nearly 10-million dollars is going to 7 rural counties and their development authorities. It includes 6-million earmarked for Treutlen County’s area development of the Range Fuels ethanol plant, which just had its groundbreaking Tuesday. Another million-and-a-half dollars goes to Twiggs County, to buy land for a new sporting goods distribution center.

Other money awarded is going to development and improvements in the northeast Georgia counties of Franklin, Hart, and Stephens.

Groundbreaking for Soperton ethanol plant

Ground is set to be broken for Georgia’s first large-scale ethanol plant, to be located in Treutlen County. The plant will produce 20-million gallons of ethanol a year—eventually the owners of the plant, Colorado-based Range Fuels, expect to produce 100-million gallons a year. Ethanol will be made using wood-waste from the timber industry. Corn is typically used as feedstock for production. The plant will cost about 225-million dollars to build, and bring about 70 jobs to Soperton.