One of the most notable ethanol plants in the country was sold today.  The Hereford ethanol plant, which is most noted for its plan to turn more than 1 billion pounds of manure into fuel for the boilers that supply steam for the plant, was sold to its creditors for $25 million in credit. Societe Generale, is the lender and the administrative agent for the lending syndicate, that was awarded the plant. The Hereford Biofuels plant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January of this year and was owned by Panda Ethanol.

The plant had been in production since mid-year 2006 and has yet to be completed although construction was in the late stages in December 2008. Several complications were cited by Panda contributing to the delays in finishing the facility including firing their contractor, Lurgi PSI, as well as funds that didn’t come to fruition by financial backers and lenders.

Bill Pentak, Panda spokesman, was quoted in Amarillo.com as saying that, “It’s theirs to decide what to do with. The court approved the sale, but we don’t know the closing date for the transaction.”

According to court documents, there are still issues to be revolved and it is unclear as to the future plans of the 100 million gallon ethanol facility. Although Panda Ethanol has not filed for bankruptcy and still has three subsidiary companies, its future is also unclear.