Development News From Southwest Indiana

Port of Mt. Vernon to be Home to Largest Ethanol Plant East of the Mississippi
MOUNT VERNON, Ind. - Two companies announced plans to spend $400 million here on what is expected to be the largest ethanol plant east of the Mississippi River.

The ethanol plant, to be built on a 110-acre cornfield just north of the port's administrative office, is projected to produce 220 million gallons of ethanol annually from 80 million bushels of corn purchased from area farmers. With construction slated to begin in the spring, the facility is expected to employ between 50 and 70 people when completed.

The plant should be ready to produce 110 million gallons annually by September 2008, with full capacity expected to kick in at the beginning of 2010.

The project is a joint venture between Consolidated Grain and Barge, which already operates from the port, and Pekin, Ill.-based Aventine Renewable Energy Inc., which runs an ethanol plant in Illinois and one in Nebraska.

James Redding, vice president of external relations for Aventine, said the company's Pekin, Ill., ethanol plant, which is about half the size of the planned Mount Vernon plant, pumps $100 million annually into the area's economy through wages, transportation and corn purchasing.

"It's amazing what you can do for a local economy," Redding said.

The port's facility, along with plans for 14 other ethanol plants across the state, puts Indiana in "the forefront of the ethanol frontier," said Rich Cooper, executive director of the Ports of Indiana.

The announcement came even as plans are being finalized for a 100-million gallon ethanol plant on the western edge of Mount Vernon. That plant will be operated by ASAlliances Biofuels of Dallas..

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