Cargill has launched a renewable energy subsidiary to build four big ethanol plants.

According to Cargill, Emerald Renewable Energy plans to develop four 100 million gallon/year ethanol plants in the Midwest. No sites have been announced yet, but several are under consideration, including empty locations and sites near Cargill grain elevators

Emerald Renewable Energy is a privately held, limited liability company formed by Cargill to develop and invest in renewable energy projects in the United States. Cargill will provide the initial development capital for the projects. Emerald Renewable Energy will contract with Cargill for services to support the facilities, including corn supply, natural gas, price risk management and the marketing of ethanol and distillers grains.

“Emerald Renewable Energy will have access to Cargill’s world-class expertise in trading, sourcing corn, plant construction and operations, risk management and bulk commodity transportation,” noted Scott Portnoy, Cargill corporate vice president with responsibility for its Biofuels and Bioproducts businesses.

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