Plant Would Turn Waste to Ethanol in Holland, MI
by Andrea Goodell (The Holland Sentinel) From the dump to powering your toaster in the morning — a company is proposing to turn waste into energy with a plant in Holland.
Renewable Energy Technologies LLC wants to retrofit an empty factory on 40th Street to turn sugar- and alcohol-based waste into ethanol.
“Instead of taking it to the dump or throwing it down the drain, we’ll take it to us. We’re going to take it (and) do something good with it,” said Ken Schewe, senior vice president.
Something such as recalled cereal or waste from juice or perfume production could be turned into ethanol at the former Big Dutchman facility at 694 E. 40th St.
The company goes before Holland’s Zoning Board of Appeals tonight. The city requires special use permits for businesses that could produce “volatile or odoriferous materials.”
…A $500,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant will help build and operate the “best practices” renewable energy facility to process sugar- and alcohol-based waste into as much as 2.2 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol. RET will also convert its own waste into electricity or steam using anaerobic digesters. READ MORE
