By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

KINROSS, Mich. — State officials and Mascoma Corp. announced last week that the company has zeroed in on a location for a cellulosic ethanol plant it’s been planning to build in Michigan, and that it was awarded major grants from the state and federal governments to help it move forward as quickly as possible.

“They definitely are going to build it,” said Kate Casolaro, a spokeswoman for Mascoma. “I’m not sure what the status is in terms of zoning and ordinances.”

The plan to build in Kinross, using a proprietary technology to produce biofuel from woodchips and other non-food biomass, took shape after the company considered some other possible locations, especially Gaylord in the northern Lower Peninsula. The company was considering using an abandoned Georgia Pacific particle board plant that was closed a couple of years ago in Gaylord, but rejected it because of a combination of issues, according to Jay Niles, Mascoma’s business development manager in Michigan.
Niles also said there was more nearby feedstock at the Kinross location.

“Where we are going in the Upper Peninsula is pretty remarkable in terms of access roads and other things,” he said. “There’s a lot of agricultural land there that’s pretty marginal.”

He said there’s hope that some of that land may eventually be used to grow switchgrass and willow, both of which could be used as feedstock.

The grants announced last week include a $26 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy and a $23.5 million grant from the state. Niles referenced the worldwide credit squeeze, saying while the company isn’t having difficulties obtaining funds, the grants would still help it “move a little quicker” with engineering designs and other necessities.

Richard Forest, legal counsel for Mascoma who sat in on the telephone interview with Niles and Casolaro, expressed his appreciation for agriculture’s role in bringing out ethanol as a viable replacement for gasoline.

“What’s going on in the ag space is key to this succeeding,” he said. “What the corn industry has done is to help build out the ethanol industry. I don’t think it’s competitive in any way; I think corn is seen as the first-generation biofuel. We’re very appreciative of what corn-based has accomplished.”

Construction is expected to begin in the autumn of next year and is expected to take 18-24 months to complete. The plant is expected to be operational by late 2011 or early 2012. Once it is fully operational, the plant is expected to produce 40 million gallons of ethanol a year.