U.S. to help fund ethanol project

The Energy Department said it will provide a total of $385 million to Range and five other companies involved in "cellulosic" ethanol production - a method of making alcohol-based fuel from vegetation and waste materials.

Range Fuels, formerly Kergy Inc., announced last month that it will build the ethanol plant in east-central Georgia's Treutlen County, a major timber-producing area. The facility will use wood chips from timber harvesting.  

Most U.S. ethanol is made from corn kernels. But making cellulosic ethanol from wood byproducts, weedy plants, crop residue and wastepaper is considered a key to meeting the nation's long-term goals for reducing gasoline consumption.

"Range Fuels will play a critical role in helping to bring cellulosic ethanol to market, and teaching us how we can produce it in a more cost-effective manner," U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a statement.  

Range officials said they envision several plants in Georgia, where timber waste could supply up to 2 billion gallons of ethanol a year.

Source: denverpost.com