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Texas-based Panda Energy has announced plans to build another 100 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant powered by manure.

According to the company, the latest plant will be located near the city of Muleshoe in Bailey County, Texas.

The Muleshoe facility will generate the steam used in the ethanol manufacturing process by gasifying more than 1 billion pounds of cattle manure a year. Once complete, it will be one of the most fuel efficient ethanol refineries in the nation and equal in size to Panda’s Hereford facility, currently under construction, which will be the largest biomass-fueled ethanol plant in the United States.

The Muleshoe facility is the sixth 100 million gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the fourth to be powered by cattle manure.

Last week, Panda announced that it intends to build a 100 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Lincoln County, Nebraska which will be fueled with the more traditional natural gas instead of biomass.

Illinois Central Ethanol, or ICE, has announced plans for the development of an ethanol production facility in Nokomis, Illinois. The Montgomery County plant is projected to produce 50 million gallons of ethanol annually.

The dry mill plant will use an estimated 18 million bushels of corn annually, according to Don Frank, ICE board president, “which will provide a good local market for corn farmers in the surrounding areas.

U.S. ethanol production is expected to increase by 20 percent over last year, according to the latest numbers that reflect production through August.

The Renewable Fuels Association released the newest data from the Energy Information Administration showing that U.S. ethanol producers were averaging 329,000 barrels per day of ethanol production in August.

That is a record for daily production average and an increase of 69,000 b/d from August 2005. For the first eight months of 2006, ethanol production is averaging 305,000 b/d, which translates into nearly 4.7 billion gallons of ethanol a year. These numbers, of course, will continue to grow as additional ethanol biorefineries will continue to come online.

Meanwhile, demand for ethanol in August averaged 385,000 barrels per day.

In an effort to clarify the recent Underwriters Laboratory decision regarding E85 fuel pumps, the American Coalition for Ethanol is reassuring retailers that there is no concern regarding E10 fuel pumps.

“It’s important to be clear that Underwriters Laboratories’ decision has absolutely no impact on pumps that dispense ethanol blends up to 10 percent,” said Ron Lamberty, ACE Vice President of Market Development.

ACE also pointed out that the E85 pump certification change does not mean that all E85 pumps will be shut down. Underwriters Laboratories, on its own, has no legal authority. A UL listing for fuel pumps is only required in states or municipalities which have written such a requirement into their laws – so the group’s decision will affect E85 pumps in some, but not all, locations. In many cities and states this issue has already been addressed, and E85 fuel will continue to be available while UL studies the issue further.

The U.S. Department of Energy and UL are holding a joint “E85 Compatibility Technical Forum” Wednesday and Thursday to obtain additional advice to aid in the development of specifications for E85 pumps.

Ethanol production helped to more than double first quarter profits for number one ethanol producer Archer Daniels Midland.

Net income was up 116 percent in the quarter ending September 30 to a total of $403 million, much of that due to a more than 300 percent increase in corn bioproducts, mostly ethanol. ADM senior VP of Corporate Affairs Brian Peterson said profits were up versus last year on increased prices and they are looking forward to continuing involvement in the ethanol industry. “We have completed the permitting process for the 275 million gallon ethanol plant in Columbus, Nebraska and expect to complete construction in about 24 months. The 275 million gallon plant in Cedar Rapids (IA) is currrently in the permitting process.”

ADM intends to boost ethanol capacity by almost 50 percent to 1.6 billion gallons by 2008 to take advantage of increased demand for the alternative fuel as gasoline prices rise.

ADM’s complete first quarter earnings presentation is available on line here.