By BILL MEDLEY, Evansville Courier & Press staff writer
medleyb@courierpress.com
MOUNT VERNON, Ind. -A few Port of Indiana officials met over chips and salsa at a nearby Mexican restaurant recently to think of ways to expand the shipping and industrial center along the Ohio River.
The result of that brainstorming session was evident Friday as state officials and two companies announced plans to spend $400 million here on what is expected to be the largest ethanol plant east of the Mississippi River.
"This is the largest single stride yet in a race Indiana has come to win," Gov. Mitch Daniels said during a stop in Mount Vernon. "We are well on our way to being the leading producer of biodiesel in America and a top five producer of ethanol."
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.
Friday's 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.
"A little more than a year ago, we had one lonely ethanol plant," Daniels said. "Fast forward just 18 months. Today, we are announcing the 15th plant - 12 ethanol and three biodiesel."
Friday's announcement also came on a day in which Daniels unveiled a statewide plan to develop more sources of energy - such as coal and biofuels - within Indiana.
The "Hoosier Homegrown" plan aims to boost economic development by expanding "clean coal" technology, improving the state's energy infrastructure and reducing Indiana's expenditures on imports of energy sources.
Daniels, a Republican, said the plan is the "last piece and the fundamental piece of our economic game plan."
"The opportunity to produce more of our own energy here means more jobs and income for Hoosiers in a corner of the state where we are determined to make that happen," Daniels said.
In addition to an emphasis on fuels such as ethanol and soy diesel, Daniels said, he will push for greater use of technologies such as coal gasification to increase Indiana coal production.
"We are paying somebody else $1 billion dollars a year for coal we could be mining here if we could use it in an economically friendly fashion," he said.
The energy plan also creates an Interagency Council on Energy to advise the governor's office and the General Assembly on energy policy matters.
"We have to maintain a competitive edge versus other states with a lower cost of energy," Daniels said. "There's a huge opportunity here to put a lot of Hoosiers to work directly. ... Energy by itself can be a big part of the Indiana comeback."
Meanwhile, Indiana House Democrats responding to Daniels' plan said the governor should send Hoosiers "a life raft now" by suspending the state's gasoline tax.
"The governor is looking at people drowning in a sea of high gas prices and offering up only the chance to build a boat for them on shore," Indiana House Democratic Leader Patrick Bauer of South Bend said in a statement.
In Mount Vernon, Daniels reiterated his position on the issue, saying that suspending the state's gasoline tax would not solve problems at the pump. He said a lack of refinery capacity and a ban on offshore drilling were the causes of the pain.
"Federal policy's got to get real," Daniels said.