Ethanol plant sites in Fulton County being evaluated

BY CHRISTINA M. SEILER, News Editor, The Rochester Sentinel

Indiana Renewable Fuels continues to assess two sites for its planned 100-million-gallon per year ethanol plant, President Glen Bode said recently.

One site is in north Fulton County, 430 acres just east of Old U.S. 31 and south of Indiana 110.

The other, where soil borings are underway, is at Old U.S. 31 and 19th Road, south of Argos and the short line railroad.

Water testing continues at the Fulton County site. "We have not actually had those tests completed yet," Bode said. "That's quite an involved process."

Both sites are close to County Line Landfill, where methane gas will be captured and piped to the plant to power its thermal oxidizers, which are big incinerators which scrub emissions before they leave the plant.

Methane can be piped as far as 15 miles, Bode said earlier.

"We are continuing to look at both sites," Bode said. "I guess the position really hasn't been changed on that front."

The Fulton County site was rezoned, from agricultural to industrial, in June. The aquifer assessment was required as a rezoning condition.

At one point, IRF had options of three plots of land, two of them in Marshall County. The corporation has not discussed financial assistance with Marshall County officials although it did give a March presentation in Plymouth.

IRF, a limited liability corporation comprised of 34 investors, and its consultants met with Fulton County officials in early May to explain a complicated financing plan for the plant.

Declaring an economic development area for the plant, writing a plan that outlines redevelopment of the area and then declaring a Tax Incremental Financing district to capture new taxes to fund the redevelopment are required.

The financial assistance plan includes as many as five bond issues. Three bond issues totaling more than $36 million, two more bond sales and a $400,000 road upgrade were discussed.

The county would be obligated for as much as $2 million, $1.6 million of it cash reserve in case the ethanol company can't make its bond payments, plus the road work.

To produce 100 million gallons of ethanol per year will require 100 semi-trailer loads of grain per day.

One bushel of corn produces 2.7 gallons of denatured alcohol, 18 pounds of dried distillers grain and 16 pounds of carbon dioxide.

The distillers grain is used as animal feed. The carbon dioxide can be used by the carbonated beverage or dry ice industries.

It's expected grain will arrive via truck and the plant's three products will mostly leave via rail.

The $150 million plant would have an estimated assessed valuation of $13.3 million for real property and between $25.8 and $47.1 million in personal property.

Consultants estimated the plant will generate $656,000 of new taxes yearly, all of which would be obligated by the plan for the development costs incurred by IRF.