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Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009

Feds to guarantee loan for plant near Soperton

The United States government will guarantee — with some conditions — an $80 million loan for Range Fuels to build an ethanol production plant near Soperton, the company announced this week.

Range Fuels would have to pay the loan back, but would have the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s substantial backing for the project under the terms of the agreement. Specifics on the conditions weren’t available Tuesday, but a company spokeswoman told The Telegraph in an e-mail that “Range Fuels is confident they will be able to satisfy these commitments.”

The guarantee is one of several government incentives for the plant, which would use new technology to turn wood chips, switch grass and other non-edible biomass into ethanol, which can be used to power vehicles.

The facility is under construction and on track to begin production in 2010, according to spokeswoman Heather Milne.

The U.S. Department of Energy previously announced a $76 million grant to help build the plant, which was hailed as a potential breakthrough in bio-energy technology when the deal was made public in 2007. There are also various state and local government tax incentives involved in the deal, as well as millions in private financing.

At the plant announcement in February 2007, Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office said the plant would create 69 jobs in the Soperton area. The company said it could produce at least 10 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Range Fuels Inc. is a Colorado-based company. Some of its funding is provided in partnership with a California-based venture capital firm called Khosla Ventures, according to the financing plan discussed in 2007.

To contact writer Travis Fain call 361-2702.