Construction begins on Georgia cellulosic ethanol plant that will use pine waste as feedstock

Construction has begun in Georgia on the nation's first commercial plant to make cellulosic ethanol from pine-tree waste. On Tuesday in Soperton, Ga., about 100 miles west of Savannah, construction on the Range Fuels' plant officially started, reports Vicky Eckenrode of the Morris News Service.

While most of the research in cellulosic ethanol has focused on corn-based production, this plant will use "stubby pine trees and branches not used by Georgia's forestry industry to provide the feedstock," Eckenrode writes.

When the first phase of construction is finished in about a year, the plant expects to produce about 20 million gallons of ethanol annually, with hopes to increase that total to 100 million gallons annually eventually. The Colorad0-based Range Fuels received a $76 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the plant, with $50 million going toward the initial construction and the rest for expansions in the future. (Read more)