Ethanol plan still seeks financing

Monday, October 17, 2005

An ethanol plant scheduled to be built four miles west of McCook at the Perry location is still in the process of acquiring financing, according to Al Voudrie of Elk Grove, Minn.

Voudrie, a Minnesota investor and the project's originator, said he has received several state tax incentives, but is still pursuing the $70 million needed to start the project.

"I've been on this project for three years, and these kind of projects take a long time, " said Voudrie. Voudrie, along with John Kugler, Van Korell and Ron Friehe are founding members of Southwest Energy LLC which operated a pilot ethanol plant at the site last year.

One of the local investors referred questions to Voudrie.

If the $70 million is not found by Oct. 2006, tax incentives would be lost, said Voudrie.

"But I'm not even thinking of that right now," he said.

The plant was among a number of Nebraska projects that were approved for tax breaks by the Invest Nebraska Board on Friday. Trenton Agri Products in Trenton, which is in full production, was among the others, and still another is planned for Madrid.

One of the main plants approved for tax breaks Friday is an $83 million project in Gage County that will employ up to 35 people once it's operating in 2007.

There are 11 ethanol plants operating in Nebraska that produce more than 500 million gallons annually. Nebraska is the third-leading ethanol producer in the nation, and about 25 percent of the state's current crop is used to produce the fuel.

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