LANSING – The nation’s first commercial ethanol plant using a chemical process to convert wood waste products will be located in Chippewa County south of Sault Ste. Marie, state officials and Massachusetts-based Mascoma Corporation said Friday. The $250 million project will benefit from a $15 million state grant.
The announcement of specific plans for the project comes 11 months after Governor Jennifer Granholm first outlined steps the state would take to work with Mascoma to build the project in Michigan.
“This is a game-changer for Michigan,” Granholm said. While other companies are farther along with developing wood-to-fuel projects, they use different technology than the enzyme-based process to be used in Mascoma’s facility.
When operational in 2012, the plant is expected to produce 40 million gallons of ethanol a year, meaning that it would yield 400 million gallons of gasoline under the 10 percent mixture allowed for motor vehicles.
The governor and Mascoma Corporation CEO Bruce Jamerson both emphasized the commercial viability of the project in an environment where oil has shot up to $143 per barrel compared to $67 per barrel when the project was first being discussed a year ago. Jamerson said the ethanol from the plant could be produced for about $2.90 per gallon, more than $1 cheaper than retail prices for gasoline.
The cellulosic chemical process provides a far smaller carbon footprint for the plant than other biomass ethanol plans, Jamerson said.
The $250 million plant would employ about 50 persons when fully operational, and some 500 to 700 more jobs would be required in related jobs to collect and deliver the wood waste to be used in the plant.
The state will provide a $15 million grant for the project, which will be the first of several planned Centers for Energy Excellence established by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Jamerson said Michigan offered uniquely-attractive resources with the nation’s largest state-owned forest acreage plus partnerships with Marathon Oil Company, General Motors Corporation, JM Longyear of Marquette and the expertise provided to the project by Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University.
“No other project has this,” he said. “The team that came together is really outstanding.”
Two potential sites have been identified in Chippewa County, and a land swap with the Department of Natural Resources is expected as part of the final development.
“We have through Mascoma the next step in the long term vision that Michigan can lead the nation in renewable eco-energy,” Granholm said.
Stephen Hicks, CEO of JM Longyear, said, “Mascoma’s revolutionary technology combined with site integration and innovative supply chain strategies position Michigan to lead the nation in the advancement of new, clean energy production and job creation.”
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