Blairstown Ethanol Plant Gets $2.9 Million State Grant
by George Ford (SourceMedia Group News/Eastern Iowa Business) The Iowa Power Fund Board awarded a $2.9 million grant to a cellulosic ethanol plant in Blairstown.
Fiberight-Blairstown Operating LLC received the grant to demonstrate how municipal solid waste can be converted into cellulosic ethanol, bio-chemicals, and other processed fiber products using a proprietary biochemical technology on a highly cost efficient, commercial production scale. With over more than $4.1million in leveraged funds, the total demonstration project cost will be over $7 million.
Maryland-based Fiberight paid $1.65 million in November 2009 to acquire the idled Blairstown ethanol plant from Xethanol LLC. It plans to invest $20 million to convert the plant to use cellulosic feedstock instead of corn.
Fiberight President Craig Stuart-Paul said the plant will initially produce ethanol using industrial waste from a Cedar Rapids manufacturing plant. READ MORE and MORE (Green Economy — update)



