Oregon gets the Northwest's first cellulosic ethanol plant

ETHANOL PLANT
KLCC 89.7 FM, EUGENE (NPR) 02/08/08
ND

SOON DRIVERS WILL BE ABLE TO BUY LOCAL ETHANOL AT THE PUMPS.

THE NORTHWEST’S FIRST CELLULOSIC ETHANOL PLANT IS PLANNED FOR TWENTY-FIVE MILES WEST OF PENDLETON.  THE PLANT IS FUNDED BY OVER TWENTY-FOUR MILLION DOLLARS IN GRANT MONEY.

ONE OF THE MAJOR ISSUES SURROUNDING ETHANOL IS ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.  A RECENT ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES SUMMARIZES THE DEBATE AND SITES NEW SCIENTIFIC STUDIES.  THOUGH ETHANOL BURNS CLEANER THAN GASOLINE, THE PROCESS OF TURNING PLANTS INTO FUEL, REFINING THE RESULTING PRODUCT, AND TRANSPORTING MATERIALS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES TOTAL EMISSIONS.

BUT THE NEW OREGON PLANT WILL CONVERT *LOCAL SURPLUS WHEAT STRAW AND WOOD CHIPS INTO FUEL.  THE RAW MATERIALS WILL BE SUPPLIED BY GREENWOOD RESOURCES AND OREGON HAY PRODUCTS.

GARY FREDERICKSON, PRESIDENT OF OREGON HAY PRODUCTS, SAYS HE IS EXCITED ABOUT GETTING IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR.  THE DETAILS OF THE DEAL HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED, BUT FREDRICKSON IS PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT MULTIPLE-USE FACILITIES…

[actuality; 18 seconds; “It’s kind of in its infancy and there’s a lot of work being done.  They did get the grant and there’ll be a lot more detail to come.  It’s an exciting thing, because it’s going to piggyback right on where their grain production facility is, so they should have dual usage with their existing distillery, so it should be a good thing.”]

ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, ETHANOL MADE FROM CELLULOSE RELEASES SEVENTY-PERCENT FEWER EMISSIONS THAN GASOLINE, WHILE CORN-BASED ETHANOL DECREASES EMISSIONS BY TEN TO TWENTY PERCENT.