The New Energy Corp. ethanol plant in South Bend has been shut down since November. The company, which is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcyproceedings, is seeking a new investor to buy the facility and reopen it. Staff photo by Greg Swiercz
SOUTH BEND -- In October 1984, a group of local politicians and businessleaders gathered on top of some reclaimed muckland on the city's southwestern edge to celebrate an economic boon.
New Energy Corp. was opening the first large-scale ethanol plant in Indiana.
Those officials stood next to the $186 million facility and talked about how it would help relieve the nation's dependence on foreign oil as well as fuel economic growth through new jobs and a new market for farmers' corn crops.
The plant continues to tower over West Calvert Street nearly 30 years later, but it's no longer pumping out ethanol.
Copyright © 2024, South Bend Tribune