The University of Florida has selected Florida Crystals Corp. as the site to build a cellulosic ethanol plant that will produce 1 million to 2 million gallons of ethanol a year, university officials said.

According to a South Florida Business Journal article, the plant is financed by a $20 million state grant and will operate as a research and development lab as well as a commercial facility. It is the first of its kind in Florida. Attendees at the Monday meeting where the decision was announced said Florida Crystals was selected over the second front-runner, Memphis, Tenn.-based Buckeye Technologies, because it has a large supply of bagasse biomass and it is already in the sugar business.