Panda Ethanol Inc. announced its intention to build a 100 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant near Muleshoe, Texas, that will refine 38 million bushels of corn a year into fuel. The steam used in the ethanol manufacturing process will be generated by gasifying over 1 billion pounds of cattle manure a year, making it one of the most fuel efficient ethanol refineries in the nation. It will be equal in size to Panda’s Hereford facility, currently under construction, which will be the largest biomass-fueled ethanol plant in the United States.
The Muleshoe facility is the sixth 100 million gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the fourth to be powered by cattle manure. The company has received air permits for three of its six announced ethanol projects.
“This facility will have a tremendous economic development impact on Muleshoe and Bailey County by providing many jobs in several areas and by nearly doubling our tax base,” said Janet Claborn, director of economic development for the Muleshoe Economic Development Corporation. “This is ‘value-added’ for our agricultural community and a natural fit for our dairies and feed yards.”
Panda’s ethanol refinery will be located on a 305-acre site. Construction will take approximately 18 months.
Panda Ethanol previously announced that it has entered into a merger agreement with Cirracor, a publicly-held corporation which trades over the counter. The merger is currently expected to become effective in the fourth quarter of 2006, subject to the satisfaction of certain requirements, and the combined entity will operate under the name of Panda Ethanol Inc.
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