A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 23,2002 (Continued from Page noted. He cautioned planners against letting emotions guide the selection process. “You have to look at this as a regional project,” he said. Key factors for qualified sites include high corn production in the surrounding area, transpor tation infrastructure includ ing a mainline railroad, utilities on the site, availability of low cost energy, and community support. 881 also looked at corn pro duction and potential ethanol production throughout the area, and assessed market potential for ethanol and its co-products, dried distiller’s grain and carbon dioxide. Bryan recommended a facility capable of producing 40 million gallons of ethanol per year. About 128,000 tons of dried dis tiller’s grain feed at 25 per cent protein or more would also be generated. In a good growing year, corn produced within a 50-mile radius of sites in the eastern part of the study area could supply such a plant, according to the study. In a bad year, that supply could drop to 20 million gallons or less of ethanol production po tential, thereby increasing de pendency on com from the Midwest. Ethanol Planners For eastern Pennsylvania, the 25 to 30 cents per bushel above the Chicago Mercantile Ex change price for corn, however, could be offset by strong local markets for both ethanol and dried distiller’s grains. “Can you make an ethanol plant profitable at $2.88 (per bushel) com when you’re com peting with $2.60 corn (in the Midwest)?” Turning corn into more valu able products for nearby con sumers should make it possible, according to Bryan. “It’s all about value-added,” he said. A plant producing 40 million gallons of ethanol, 128,000 tons of dried distiller grains, and 96,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year in southcentral Penn sylvania could add $1.60 per bushel or a total of 22.8 mil lion dollars to the value of the com, according to Bryan’s fig ures. Carbon dioxide, the least valuable of the co-products, could be used for beverage car bonation and generate about 9 extra cents per bushel. The ethanol plant would hire 32 fulltime employees and gen erate more than $6O million per year, with a total economic impact of about $135 million. Eighty-five percent of that reve nue would be spent within a 75- mile radius of the plant. according to the study. Bryan cited increasing demand for ethanol in the U.S., with some states prohibiting the fuel oxygenate MTBE because of environmental hazards and with U.S. Congress likely to outlaw it. Unlike MTBE, ethanol is touted as a renewable and envi ronmentally safe fuel oxygenate. A national Renewable Fuel Standard is also in the works. If passed in Congress, it would re quire the use of about five billion gallons of ethanol by 2012, ac cording to Bryan. For the future of ethanol pro duction, it will be important to use sources other than just corn, Bryan said. Wood from overgrown forests and most of the garbage sent to landfills can also be turned into ethanol, although that technol- ogy is still in development to make the process more efficient, he said. Waste beer, fruit juices, and cheese whey are examples of some of the materials being used sucessfully today. Corn producers and economic development leaders began early last year to investigate the possi bility of an ethanol plant in the area. An ethanol steering commit tee grew out of that joint interest between area farmers and eco nomic development leaders. Dan Wolf, Stewartstown-area corn grower and steering com mittee chairman, said the study is a positive indicator for moving ahead on the project. “I’m gratified that the num bers (shown in the study results) are about what we expected,’’ Wolf said. Scott Welsh, an ag economic YOUR FULL LINE KUBOTA PRODUCT HEADQUARTERS • INVENTORY • PRICE • KNOWLEDGEABLE SALES STAFF » PARTS » SERVICE EXPERIENCE KpiERNtqS. •PARTS •SALES • SERVICE We Ship Parts , i Call For Details UPS { TRACTORS & EQUIPMENT I 0n Leasing •BAI lON Rt. #7. 80x405. Lebanon, PA 47042 Rt. 419 t Ml W West OfSchaefferetown 717-949-2000 OfTottl 877-410 9 *"' < Visit our web site at www.kubotaparts.eom • E-mall us atkubota@nbn.net iKI I MkMt MONDAY - FRIDAY 8:00 - 5:00 SATURDAY 8:00 • 12:00 Serving Central PA Since 1921 •(LOTS) KELLER BROS. AIRPORT t RUNWAY 600 1 From Dsalerstm development specialist, was also hired last fall by the York County Economic Development Corporation to work on the ethanol project and other ag ini tiatives. The steering committee and the YCEDC will next focus on business organization and mem bership, site selection, and fur ther market analyses for the project. Bryan said that the majority of U.S. ethanol facilities lo cated mostly in the Upper Mid west are farmer-owned cooperatives. The amount of grain that shareholders are required to commit to ethanol production can vary according to the rules of the cooperative. That is one of the questions southcentral Penn sylvania leaders will address as (Turn to Pag«A3B) Financing OrCaah Discounts Iff LANCASTER 1960 Frultvitta Pike. Lancaster, PA 17601 A» Route 30 » . . RfufMße Pike 717-569-2500 L' • <36S-a»2t '
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