ConAgra scraps plan to build ethanol plant in N.M.

Rising construction costs and uncertainty in the ethanol market have prompted ConAgra Foods to end plans to build a $200 million ethanol plant near Clovis, N.M., reports the Clovis News Journal.

The 108-million-gallon-a-year plant was proposed in mid-2006 and was to be built near these grain elevators (at left in a CNJ photo by Tony Bullocks) on U.S. 60/84, Monte reports. Clovis is near the New Mexico-Texas border, about 220 miles east of Albuquerque.

"While some Clovis residents see Tuesday’s announcement as an environmental victory, others see it as a missed opportunity to bring jobs and economic development to the community," Gabriel Monte writes. "Clovis Industrial Development Corp. Executive Director Chase Gentry said the company’s decision cost the city about 60 high-wage jobs, $200 million in capital investment and additional tax revenue." (Read more)