Feb 14 2011
INEOS New Planet BioEnergy (INPB), a joint venture between New Planet Energy and INEOS Bio, has started the construction of its first US-based commercial scale plant to generate sophisticated biofuels from waste.
The Vero Beach, Florida-located Indian River BioEnergy Center requires an investment of $130 million.
INEOS New Planet BioEnergy Center
INEOS Bio will license the BioEnergy technology, which converts vegetative, yard and household wastes into cellulosic ethanol and alternative energy. The bio-energy facility is slated for operation during the mid of 2012. It will generate 8 million gallons of bioethanol and 6 MW of alterative energy, of which nearly 2 MW will be supplied to the local residents. The BioEnergy Center will create 380 direct and indirect positions, which include 175 construction jobs, for the coming two years and 50 permanent jobs in the county.
The BioEnergy Center is the first project in the globe using INEOS Bio's patented technology in a commercial scale. The technology is utilizing naturally existing bacteria to convert gases released directly from biomass into bioethanol and is using several non-food materials as feedstock such as forestry and agricultural wastes, municipal and construction solid waste. Thus, this kind of facility can be developed anywhere in the world.
The bio-energy project secured a grant worth $50 million from the US Department of Energy’s Section 932 Integrated Biorefinery program in late 2009 and a $2.5 million grant from Florida. As part of its Biorefinery Assistance Program, the US Department of Agriculture has also granted a $75 million loan guarantee recently.