The United States' first facility to produce advanced biofuels from waste on a commercial scale is planned for Florida, project developers said.
The $130 million Indian River BioEnergy Center in Vero Beach, Fla. is projected to produce 8 million gallons of bioethanol annually from local yard, vegetative and household waste. It will also produce 6 megawatts — enough to power approximately 1,400 homes — of renewable power from the waste.
Production is expected the middle of next year.
The project is a joint venture between INEOS Bio, a subsidiary of the chemical conglomerate INEOS, and New Planet Energy, a company specializing in the commercialization of sustainable refinery technology.
Indian River will be the first commercial-scale project worldwide to employ INEOS Bio's patented technology, the company said. Using naturally occurring bacteria, the process converts gases, derived directly from the waste, into ethanol.
Instead of relying on a single main source of waste or feedstock, INEOS Bio's method can use a number of feedstocks, including construction and municipal solid waste as well as forestry and agricultural waste.
INEOS said it aims to serve the global renewable transport fuels and renewable energy markets.
"Consistent with our goal of enabling sustainable transportation using non-food crop biofuels, we will license this world-changing technology to partners across the U.S. and beyond, bringing secure, renewable fuel and power to communities globally," said Peter Williams, chief executive officer of INEOS Bio, in a statement.
The United States hads204 ethanol plants, which produced 13 billion gallons of the fuel last year, the Renewable Fuels Association said. Of those plants, 99 percent produced the ethanol from grain starch.
"America can be energy self-reliant, and this project represents a pathway to achieving that goal," said association Director of Communications Matt Hartwig.
Ground was broken Wednesday for the Vero Beach facility, 14 months after the project received a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of its Section 932 Integrated Biorefinery program.
In addition to a $2.5 million Florida Farm-to-Fuel grant, the project has received a conditional commitment for a $75 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of its Biorefinery Assistance Program.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said Indian River "is an example of how federal investments in innovation and clean energy are helping to grow America's economy," Biofuels Digest reports.
"This advanced biofuels project will create new jobs, reduce carbon pollution, provide advanced biofuels and renewable power for local residents and spur the development of America's biomass industry," Chu said.
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