Posey Ethanol Plant Proceeding
By BILL MEDLEY, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7519 or medleyb@courierpress.com
Plans are moving forward on a proposed Posey County ethanol plant that could be one the largest such facilities east of the Mississippi River.
Aventine Renewable Energy, which announced plans last August for a 220 million gallon ethanol plant at the Port of Indiana in Mount Vernon, has finalized engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the project with Kiewit Energy Co. of Houston.
Aventine said it expects construction on the $400 million plant to be completed within 18 months of issuing a “Notice to Proceed” to the builder. Aventine is awaiting permit approval and in late May filed a draft permit with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Kiewit Energy Co., which also has offices in Calgary, Canada, has also been contracted to build a similar project in Aurora, Neb., for Aventine.
Aventine, based in Pekin, Ill., said Kiewit will build a facility at each site initially capable of producing 113 million gallons of ethanol annually. A second construction phase would potentially double each plant’s size.
Aventine said it is seeking permits that would allow production of 226 million gallons at each site.
Daniel Trunfio, chief operating officer of Aventine, said having the contracts in hand was “another milestone in completing these projects.”
“Having these contracts in place will allow us to move forward on these projects as soon as we receive the necessary permits,” Trunfio said. “We look forward to completing these projects as expeditiously as possible.”
Kiewit, which has completed various energy construction projects, including refinery expansions and liquid natural gas facilities, has subcontracted with another firm, Delta-T Corp., for technology services. Delta-T has worked on several other bio-fuel, pharmaceutical and beverage processing projects.
The Aventine plant is a joint venture with Consolidated Grain and Barge, which already has operations at the Mount Vernon port.
At full capacity, the plant is expected to use 80 million bushels of corn per year.
The plant is one of at least four bio-fuel facilities planned for Posey County. Ports of Indiana commissioners have been negotiating with another company considering a site at the port.
Other proposals in Posey County include a plan from Abengoa BioEnergy for an ethanol facility on 51 acres in the southeastern part of the county. ASAlliances has also proposed building an ethanol plant west of Mount Vernon near a Cargill grain facility.
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