Plants that would make ethanol from wood biomass are planned for three Southeastern states. Xethanol Corporation today announced plans to build ethanol plants in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina through a newly-formed subsidiary CoastalXethanol LLC. The new company will be based in Savannah, GA for two main reasons, according to Xethanol Chairman and CEO Christopher d’Arnaud-Taylor, “first because of rapidly expanding regional demand for ethanol and second for its abundance of biomass feedstocks that are readily available. Our long-term goal for the region is to develop production capacity of 250 million gallons of ethanol per year.” The corporate release quotes a recent Atlanta Business Journal story that said demand for ethanol in Georgia could skyrocket if a federal court rules that metro Atlanta drivers must use reformulated gasoline to comply with Clean Air Smog standards — a move experts say could generate overnight demand for 250 million gallons or more of ethanol. In addition, the company notes strong support for biofuels from GA Governor Sonny Perdue who recently proposed allocating $2 million of state money for research into using wood chips, peanut hulls and other organic material for energy sources. (link to release)
Gotta love the name, gotta love the logo and gotta love the forward-thinking of this company.