BY SUSAN ERLER, Times of Northwest Indiana
serler@nwitimes.com
An ethanol production plant under construction near Rensselaer could soon face competition in nearby Benton County.
Indianapolis-based Maize AgriProducts is scouting sites in Benton County for a plant capable of producing 50 million gallons of the corn-based fuel a year.
A study by the company found that Benton County, about 20 miles from Rensselaer, has ample corn production and is near needed highways, rail lines and utilities.
Maize AgriProducts is expected to choose a specific site later this month.
The Iroquois Bio-Energy plant just east of Rensselaer will have capacity to process 14.3 million bushels of corn a year into 40 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol, a clean burning fuel that has been touted as an alternative to Middle Eastern oil.
Workers have poured foundations for the 144,000-square-foot main building and several outbuildings of the $66 million plant, Iroquois General Manager Keith Gibson said.
Construction is on schedule for a late 2006 opening, Gibson said.
Work on the Iroquois plant got underway in September, in what has become an increasingly competitive arena.
Another six to 10 ethanol plants are expected to be built in Indiana in coming years, an ethanol industry official said in September.
The state currently has only one operating plant, in South Bend. Another four, including the Iroquois plant, are under construction and more are on the drawing board, including projects in Marion, Hartford City, Bluffton and Winchester.
Similar efforts, including proposed legislation to mandate ethanol production, are under way in Illinois.
Demand remains strong for the corn-based fuel, even though gas prices stabilized after soaring in late summer and early fall, Gibson said.
Hiring is expected to begin in August for approximately 35 workers that Iroquois will employ, Gibson said.
Hiring standards will include a background in agriculture for workers required to process corn used for ethanol production, Gibson said.
The processing will be sequenced by computer, requiring workers with computer skills, he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.