Poodfeed.net
http://www.podfeed.net/episode/Venus+Gets+BioFuel+Plant+Funding/1055227
$7 Million Grant Given By State MOORE HAVEN, FL. -- A $47
million project to construct a 20 million-gallon-a-year ethanol production
plant using sugar products has been slated for construction near the small
rural community of Venus just north of the Glades county line. The company has
promised to spend $40 million of its own money on the plant. United States Envirofuels, LLC says the primary feedstock to be converted
to biofuel is sweet sorghum which is not a food crop,
uses less water and fertilizer than sugar or corn crops and grows rapidly. The
millions of gallons of water used in the production process will be treated and
reused and other byproducts will be sold as high- potassium fertilizer.
According to a company press release, supplemental feedstocks
will also include sugar cane, cane milling byproducts and other sugar crops
produced by local growers. Site planning and conceptual plant design are done
and permitting is about to begin. The plant will use several technologies to
ensure the finished products are low carbon ethanol, green renewable power,
bio-fertilizer, beverage grade liquid carbon dioxide, and treated water for
process recycling and irrigation. Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services
Commissioner Charles H. Bronson this week announced the recipients of $25
million in renewable energy grants throughout the state. The 12 companies
chosen, including U.S. Envirofuels, for grants were
among 76 vying for the awards, which were funded by the Florida Legislature last
spring. The grants are part of Bronson's "Farm to Fuel" initiative, a
program designed to get