Green Plains Renewable Energy announced today that their recently acquired ethanol plant located in Central City, Neb. is back in production. This 100 million gallon per year (mpy) biorefinery has been idle since November 2008. Green Plains said they made necessary repairs and capital improvements to the plant.

This plant was purchased from AgStar Financial Services back in May. AgStar became the default owners of the plant, along with one in Ord, Neb. when VeraSun Energy filed for bankruptcy. Earlier this month, Green Plains also announced that the plant in Ord also commenced operations – just 8 days after the purchase became official.

“The startup of the Ord plant within eight days of completing the purchase is a testament to our operational experience and our considerable understanding of the plant technology,” said Todd Becker, Green Plains’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Ord plant has been idle since November 2008, but based on our expertise, we developed and executed a comprehensive plan that allowed us to quickly achieve this milestone. We are glad to bring this plant back online producing ethanol.”

Green Plains, based in Omaha, Neb., is North America’s fourth largest ethanol producer with a combined operating capacity of 480 mgy.