Developers of a 60-acre ethanol plant in South Georgia have received 80-million dollars in loan guarantees from the federal government.
The loan guarantees come from the USDA’s Biorefinery Assistance Program that gives money to companies using something besides corn to make ethanol. Right now the Soperton plant uses wood chips, but will eventually use every part of the tree.
Right now they’ve just completed phase one and they’re testing it says John Lee is with the Soperton-Treutlen Development Authority.
“In about two months of just intensive testing of every valve and every container, every valve and every container, every vessel to check pressure valves-all that.”
Colorado-based Range Fuels broke ground on the 500-million dollar Soperton plant in 2007 and expect it to produce around 100-million gallons a year by 2013.

Tags: USDA, GA., cellulosic ethanol, federal loan guarantees, Soperton, Range Fuels, bioenergy