Mount Vernon, Ind., may get a second ethanol plant.
Consolidated Grain and Barge has contacted the Ports of Indiana, requesting an option to lease 116 acres at the Mount Vernon port for an ethanol plant, according to Jody Peacock, spokesman for the ports.
Don Smolek, general manager of ethanol development at Consolidated's headquarters in Jeffersonville, Ind., confirmed Wednesday the request recently was made.
He said he is in negotiations with several different companies about establishing an ethanol plant on the riverfront.
The site is on the east side of Mount Vernon. No deal has been signed yet.
On June 10, Dallas-based ASAlliances Holdings LP announced it plans to build a $125 million ethanol plant on the riverfront on the west edge of Mount Vernon.
The ASAlliances site is along old Indiana 69 (formerly Uniontown Road), near the GE Plastics plant.
Construction is anticipated to begin in the fall on the site, adjacent to Cargill grain elevator.
That plant could be ready to go in 18 to 24 months. Cargill will supply 100 percent of the corn, which will be a key ingredient in the ethanol manufacturing process.
The second ethanol plant has also attracted interest, which is why Smolek said Consolidated decided to pursue the land lease option at the port.
Smolek declined to identify any prospective company until a contract is signed.
He said the companies that Consolidated is wooing like the port's friendly industrial site for an ethanol plant.
"We think being in an area that is highly productive with corn and that has easy access to rail, truck and barge transportation also gives us an advantage," Smolek said.
He acknowledged Cargill would be a competitor.
"But we already compete with each other," Smolek said.
Consolidated is just getting started in the ethanol business, he said.
There is no timetable for starting construction on a plant, Smolek said.