A Wisconsin ethanol plant is receiving nearly $600,000 in stimulus money to help with expansion plans.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle announced $595,000 in support for Ace Ethanol to expand its operations in Stanley and retain 40 jobs. “My Administration’s top priority continues to be helping Wisconsin businesses create jobs and giving workers the opportunities to get those jobs,” Governor Doyle said in a press release. “I’m proud to support Ace Ethanol in its efforts to produce clean energy that creates good jobs for our residents.”

The funds are part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are being distributed through the Wisconsin State Energy Program. They will be used for the installation of heat exchange equipment to reduce waste heat and make the facility more efficient.

Ace Ethanol is a founding member of the Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance (WBIA). “This is great news for Ace Ethanol and Wisconsin’s ethanol industry as a whole,” said Joshua Morby, Executive Director of the WBIA. “The ethanol industry has contributed over a billion dollars to our state economy, and it is vitally important that we keep this industry growing and thriving in our state.”

Completed in June 2002, the Ace facility was the first large-scale ethanol plant in Wisconsin, and currently produces over 40 million gallons of the fuel every year. Ace also produces wet and dry distillers grain with solubles and carbon dioxide as co-products of the ethanol production process.