Range Fuels to break ground on 100 Mgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Georgia

In Georgia, Range Fuels will break ground Tuesday on its new 100 Mgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Treutlen County. Wood waste from timber mills using the state’s millions of acres of indigenous Georgia Pine will be the main source of biomass for the ethanol production.

The company’s system, named K2, uses a two step thermo-chemical conversion process. The first step converts the biomass to synthetic gas and the second step converts the gas to ethanol. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2008.

In February, Range Fuels received a $76 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for its cellulosic ethanol activities.

USA Today recently reported on efforts by Georgia to take leadership in the ethanol industry, as well as a comparison of Georgia’s biofuel tax incentive policies compared to New York and South Carolina. Georgia is blessed with strong rail transportation infrastructure, available land and a long growing season.

The location of the intellectual center of the biofuels industry is very much up for grabs – with California, Texas and Florida all eager to take a leadership role. Georgia’s single greatest disadvantage may well be the absence of a Gulf port with proximity to Central and South America. Brazilian ethanol exports to the US are just one example of the future source of biofuels for the US market. It is clear that, with current technology, the US is well short of the feedstocks to make enough biofuels to significantly reduce its carbon emissions. A factor here is the continuing strong population growth of the US (vs. the low-growth or population declines projected for Western Europe).

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