Ineos to sell Florida biofuels plant
Ineos Bio is selling its biofuel plant in Indian River, Florida. The Indian River BioEnergy Center, which opened in 2013, was a joint venture with New Planet Energy Florida. The facility had been developing waste-to-ethanol technology.
The facility was designed to produce 8 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol and six megawatts (gross) of renewable power. While Switzerland-based Ineos had reported it had successfully converted several types of waste into bioethanol, throughout its three-year history, it had experienced a host of issues and never reported reaching production capacity.
State and federal grants went toward the construction of the $130 million plant as well as county grants and tax credits.
The Ineos Bio’s USA Research Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, also is reportedly being sold.
Two firms acquire Abengoa’s US bioethanol plants
Green Plains Inc., Omaha, Nebraska, was the successful bidder on three ethanol plants for sale by Abengoa Bioenergy, with U.S. headquarters in St. Louis.
The company will purchase the Madison, Illinois, Mount Vernon, Indiana, and York, Nebraska, ethanol facilities, with combined annual production capacity of 236 million gallons per year, for approximately $237 million in cash, plus certain working capital adjustments.
Additionally, ICM was the successful bidder on the Colwich, Kansas, ethanol facility for sale by Abengoa Bioenergy conducted under the provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company will purchase the shuttered Colwich ethanol facility and property for $3.1 million.
The acquisitions are subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
Enerkem receives ISCC certification
Enerkem Inc., Montreal, Quebec, has obtained certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system for the biomethanol production of its Enerkem Alberta Biofuels full-scale facility in Edmonton, Canada. This biorefinery, according to the company, becomes the first ISCC certified plant in the world to convert municipal solid waste into biomethanol.
“Enerkem already sells its biomethanol as a renewable chemical in North America and, with the ISCC certification, we are now adding flexibility to export it as a biofuel in Europe,” says Tim Cesarek, senior vice president, business development.
Biofuels used in Europe, such as biomethanol and ethanol, must prove, through third-party certification under an approved certification scheme such as ISCC EU, that they comply with stringent criteria in terms of greenhouse gas savings, sustainability and traceability of the entire supply chain and are compliant with the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
Under the RED Directive, all EU countries must ensure that at least 10 percent of their transportation fuels come from renewable sources by 2020. The RED Directive also gives waste-based biofuels such as Enerkem’s methanol and ethanol the advantage to count double towards the 10 percent requirement.
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