HUGOTON, Kan. (AP) – A company that plans to convert switch
grass into biofuels has received a state air quality permit to
build a large cellulosic ethanol plant in southwest Kansas.
The Garden City Telegram (http://bit.ly/n3bb33 ) reports Abengoa
Bioenergy received the permit Friday for a $550 million plant in
Hugoton that will produce more than 23 million gallons of fuel a
year. Sixty-five people are expected to work at the plant, which is
billed as the nation’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol
operation.
The company says construction is expected to take about two
years and the facility will have an annual payroll of nearly $5
million.
The Spain-based bioenergy refinery company says the abundance of
resources in the area makes Hugoton an ideal location for the
plant.