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An ethanol plant being developed in Huntington likely will be less than half the originally envisioned size, the developer said Tuesday.
NuFuels LLC now expects to build a plant capable of producing 22 million gallons of ethanol a year, said Jerry Henry, the company’s owner. The company initially wanted to construct a plant that could produce 50 million gallons a year.
Building the smaller plant off U.S. 24 will cost about $45 million, Henry said. He wants to start construction in the next 60 days. The plant could be up and running by next fall, he said.
The redesigned plant will need fewer workers, Henry said. With the changes, Henry said NuFuels expects to hire 30 to 50 people. NuFuels had planned to hire 75 to 100 workers to run the ethanol plant and a biodiesel plant NuFuels plans to build on the same 114-acre site, which includes land inside Park 24 industrial park on the city’s east side. The site’s zoning designation permits NuFuels to build the plant there, Henry said.
Rising corn prices this year pushed NuFuels to reconsider the plant’s size, Henry said. Prices jumped from about $5 a bushel to more than $7 a bushel in June. Those conditions made it unprofitable for many plants to produce ethanol, an alternative fuel made from corn, he said.
Corn prices have moderated since but not before some ethanol plants halted production. That trend persuaded NuFuels to build a smaller plant.
“I’m pretty risk-averse, and this scared me,” Henry said.
NuFuels could double the size to a 44 million-gallon plant if corn prices stay around $5 a bushel, Henry said.
A smaller plant would not relieve residents’ concerns about the project, said Steve Ochs, president of Huntington County Citizens Advocating for a Responsible Environment. His group has opposed the plant and is worried about how it will affect the water table, truck traffic and air quality. NuFuels has provided little information to help residents evaluate the project, he said.
“We can’t find anyone who will do the honorable thing and tells us what their intentions are,” Ochs said.
jglenn@jg.net
