A Southeast ethanol company has formally announced the locations for four plants to be built around the sunbelt.

East Coast Ethanol intends to construct plants in Northampton Co., NC; Chester Co., SC; Wayne Co., GA; and Jackson Co., FL.

With a nameplate production capacity of 440 million gallons of ethanol per year, the four plants in operation would make ECE will become the sixth largest ethanol producer in the nation and the leading producer of ethanol and its co-products on the East Coast. According to the latest figures released by the Energy Information Administration, the Southeast ethanol market demand is estimated at 2.1 billion gallons per year.