In Michigan, Liquid Fuel From Wood
September 8, 2008
By Cassandra Stern
Apollo News Service
The Mascoma plant represents a breakthrough for Michigan, which has has been playing catch-up with other states in the race to attract clean energy industries and the jobs they bring with them.
A North Woods ethanol plant
Mascoma Corporation has committed to build one of the country’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The company’s executive say they plan to open the plant by early 2011, in time to make them among the first producers of wood chip-based ethanol in the world.
The new plant, to be built about 300 miles north of Detroit and just south of Sault Ste. Marie, will create between 400 and 600 permanent new industrial jobs in addition to temporary construction jobs. Mascoma and its partners, including General Motors Corp. and Marathon Oil, will invest about $250 million in the project, with the state contributing an additional $15 million from a special jobs investment fund.
“This new facility will mean more jobs in our agriculture, timber and manufacturing industries while benefitting our environment and energy security as a nation,” said James C. Epolito, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Bruce A. Jamerson, CEO of Boston-based Mascoma, is thrilled to be working with the state as well as two of its leading universities on the project. “This collaborative effort is a significant milestone for Mascoma and a meaningful step in our national effort to promote energy independence, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate regional economic development,” he said.
For the time being, most renewable fuel produced in the United States uses corn as a base. The diversion of corn to fuel, has sparked a “food vs. fuel” fight in and outside of Washington as corn prices soar, and along with them the prices of meat, milk, and other foods. Though economists disagree on the influence of corn ethanol production in rising food prices, there is wide agreement that it has some effect.
Thus, the intense interest in producing ethanol, which burns much more cleanly than gasoline, from non-food plants. Mascoma has a partnership with Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University for research and support developing new methods of grass and other crops to produce ethanol.
The Mascoma announcement represents a breakthrough for Michigan, which has has been playing catch-up with other states in the race to attract clean energy industries and the jobs they bring with them.
Cassandra Stern, a former reporter for The Washington Post, is a contributor to the Apollo Alliance.
For More Information:
Kate Casolaro
Mascoma Spokesperson
Phone: 617-443-9933 x.338
Email: kcasolaro@rasky.com
Web site: http://www.mascoma.com/
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Phone: 888-522-0103
Web site: http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Default.aspx
Michigan State news release on biofuels partnership: http://newsroom.msu.edu/site/indexer/3251/content.htm
Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm’s podcast on Mascoma: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/Gov151_Full_239550_7.mp3
The Michigan 21st Century Jobs Fund: http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Targeted-Initiatives/21st-Century-Jobs-Fund/Default.aspx
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