Domestic Fuel

Plans for an ethanol plant near Tampa have been scrapped, but a biodiesel plant could take its place.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, legal problems caused Port Sutton EnviroFuels to shelve plans to build Florida’s first ethanol plant but a Texas company has stepped in to take over Port Sutton’s 22-acre lease and build a biodiesel plant instead.

GreenHunter Energy, based near Dallas, reportedly plans to invest up to $100-million in a biodiesel plant and terminal that will produce 50-million gallons a year.

U.S. EnviroFuels, one of the investors in the proposed ethanol plant, is currently in the process of developing a 20 million gallon per year ethanol plant in Highlands County, Florida using sweet sorghum as the primary feedstock. Earlier this year the company received a $7 million grant from the state of Florida for that project.

Twelve grants totaling $25 million were awarded today by Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson as part of the state’s “Farm to Fuel” initiative.

“We believe that awards such as these are critical in triggering the development of a renewable energy industry in Florida,” Bronson said. “With the backing of and an investment from the state, we’re hopeful that these projects will yield positive results and serve as a catalyst for major commercial investment in this industry.”

The winners of this year’s “Farm to Fuel” grants are:

Gulf Coast Energy of Walton LLC
Awarded $7 million, in a commercial project grant for the construction and operation of both an ethanol and biodiesel plant in a $62 million project in Mossy Head, Florida

U.S. Envirofuels LLC
Awarded $7 million, in a commercial project grant for the construction of a $47 million ethanol production plant in Highlands County.

Liberty Industries
Awarded $4 million, in a commercial project grant for the construction and operation of a $38 million Liberty County facility that will produce ethanol and electricity using primarily forest waste products.

Agri-Source Fuels
Awarded $4 million, in a commercial project grant for the construction of a $21 million biodiesel plant in Pensacola.

University of Florida
Awarded $500,000, in a research and development grant to develop a catalytic chemical reactor system to convert woody biomass to biodiesel.

Southeast Biofuels LLC
Awarded $500,000, in a demonstration grant to build a nearly $6 million pilot plant in Auburndale to produce ethanol from citrus peels.

Sigarca Inc.
Awarded $499,500, in a research and demonstration project involving the construction of a 3,000-square-foot bioenergy plant on the grounds of the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion in Ocala to process horse waste into renewable energy.

University of Central Florida
Awarded $498,000, in a research and development grant to demonstrate the viability and cost effectiveness of technology developed at the university to convert farm and animal waste into renewable energy.

Florida Institute of Technology
Awarded $415,520, in a research and development grant to cultivate and research various strains of Microalgae capable of producing biodiesel.

Applied Research Associates Inc.
Awarded $203,130, in a research and development grant involving converting cellulosic materials such as sugarcane byproducts to fermentable sugars for a more cost-effective way of producing ethanol.

Applied Research Associates Inc.
Awarded $182,832, in a research and development grant to demonstrate a new technology in converting crop oils into biodiesel.

Neptune Industries Inc.
Awarded $158,270, in a research and development project that would create a pilot-scale floating algae production system in quarry lakes in South Florida to produce algae capable of being converted into biodiesel.

The president of Florida’s only ethanol plant under construction was a featured speaker in Indian River citrus country this week.

Bradley Krohn of U.S. EnviroFuels plans to use corn from the Midwest to produce ethanol for a 40 million gallon a year plant at Tampa Bay, but he believes there is good potential for Florida producers to grow alternative crops to make the fuel.

“This represents a tremendous opportunity for Florida growers to either diversify with an alternative crop or for citrus growers who are plowing up groves due to canker and are interested in growing a new kind of crop,” Krohn said in an interview this week with Southeast Agnet and Citrus Industry magazine.

Krohn says his plant could potentially use up to 100,000 acres of commodities grown in Florida. “That’s just for one plant. If you were to go to ten ethanol plants in Florida, that’s ten times 100,000 acres.”

He notes that Florida is the third largest consumer of gasoline in the country, behind California and Texas, consumer about 8.6 billion gallons of gasoline each year. He says it would take 20-25 plants like his just to provide a 10 percent ethanol blend for gasoline in the state.

Krohn also has an interesting perspective on the competition between livestock and ethanol producers for corn. “I think there’s a great opportunity in Florida to bring back slaughterhouses instead of sending cattle out to the midwest for finishing,” by creating a local supply of distiller’s grains to feed and finish cattle in the state.

Listen to an interview with Krohn by Southeast Agnet’s Gary Cooper here: Bradley Krohn Interview (7:45 min MP3)

One of two Florida ethanol plants planned by U.S. EnviroFuels is not going to happen now.

The company had run into issues earlier this year in negotiating a lease agreement to construct a 40 million gallon a year plant at Port Manatee. Company officials say because those issues could not be resolved, they are cancelling plans for the plant.

However, they intend to move forward with a similar plant at the Port of Tampa, which would be the first ethanol plant to be built in Florida. The plant is reportedly on track to be completed in 2008.

Read more from the Bradenton Herald and the St. Petersburg Times

One of two ethanol plants being built by U.S. EnviroFuels has run into a snag due to a land issue. The company is planning facilities at both Port Manatee and the Port of Tampa, but according to the Bradenton Herald, the Manatee county site is on hold “until they can work out an agreement with Port Manatee tenant TransMontaigne Inc. to lease 16.5 acres of land.”

Meanwhile, the Tampa plant continues to moving forward and is close to groundbreaking, according to company officials.

The planned site of Florida’s first major ethanol facility served as the backdrop for Governor Jeb Bush this week as he signed into law the four-year, $100 million Florida Renewable Energy Technologies and Energy Efficiency Act, designed to encourage the development of alternative fuel technologies in the state.
U.S. EnviroFuels is planning a 40 million gallon per year facility at Tampa Bay’s Port Sutton (see previous post). The company is expected to break ground in August, and begin operations by October 2007. Read more in this Tampa Bay Business Journal article.

Indiana – The Andersons Inc. is considering a third ethanol plant in Dunkirk, Ind. (Toldedo Blade) (see previous post)
Florida – United States EviroFuels LLC received a state permit to construct an ethanol production plant at Port Sutton. (Tampa Bay Business Journal) (see previous post)
Michigan – A company formed by former state Rep. Rick Johnson wants to build a $73 million ethanol refinery in Grand Traverse County’s Paradise Township. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Illinois – Marquis Energy LLC. of Hennepin and global investment and advisory firm, Babcock & Brown, have entered into a memorandum of understanding to construct, manage and provide investment financing for a two-phase development of a 200-million gallon fuel-grade ethanol facility. (News Tribune Online)
South Dakota – Not everyone in the community is thrilled over the $88 million Prairie Ethanol plant being built at Loomis, a town of 47 residents a few miles northwest of Mitchell. (AP-Aberdeen News)
Missouri – Bootheel Agri-Energy LLC announced its decision to purchase the option on approximately 160 acres at the Sikeston Business, Education and Technology Park. (SE Missourian)

A Florida-based domestic fuel company is causing some citrus producers to consider switching to corn. US EnviroFuels of Tampa recently announced plans to build Florida’s very first ethanol plants, one at Port Manatee and a second at the Port of Tampa. Both plants are projected to be 40 million gallon per year facilities. According to the company website, they want to “help Florida reduce its heavy dependence on imported gasoline by building a Florida-based renewable fuel industry,” and to “enhance the Florida economy through utilization of a variety of local, Florida feedstocks, including sugar-based streams, citrus pulp waste, green tomato discards, beverage waste, and urban yard waste, thereby minimizing commodity risk exposure.” While corn production in that part of the country is virtually non-existent, except for sweet corn, it is a major citrus producing area. However, the Florida citrus industry is facing some potentially devestating problems right now with fears that citrus canker may be out of control in the state. Another disease, citrus greening, is also putting pressure on growers. Combine that with recent hurricanes and some growers are thinking about growing corn instead , according to an article today in the Bradenton Herald. That would be interesting. Florida is certainly capable of growing corn for ethanol, but things like citrus and vegetables are higher value crops.
Just a note about the company – I had to do some pretty serious searching to find the website, not sure why. Maybe they just don’t have it registered with the search engines yet. I also think the logo is kind of ….well, crude-looking I guess. Seems like they have not put much into that aspect of their business yet.