New company eyes major ethanol production facility

A malting plant in Jefferson, Wis., would be converted for ethanol production under a plan announced by Jefferson Grain Processors, LLC, a new company in Jefferson Junction, Wis.

Jefferson Grain Processors said it would purchase Cargill Malt of Jefferson and invest more than $200 million into converting the malting plant on the 375-acre site into a multi-use facility including an ethanol plant, a tilapia fish farm, and an electric co-generation component.

Upon conversion, the plant would produce 140 million gallons of ethanol per year, making it nearly three times larger than any other Wisconsin ethanol plant.

The plans include a food by-product recycling operation that would produce 20 million gallons per year of bio-diesel fuel.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday renewed his call for greater reliance on ethanol. He made his comments in an opinion column entitled "Let's rely more on the Midwest, less on the Mideast."

• See recent WTN story on biofuels: Biofuels surge forward