New Energy Capital Corp., a venture capital firm, announced its investment in a 55 million gallon per year ethanol production facility currently under construction in Albion, Michigan.
The plant, adjacent to a grain terminal owned by The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE), will produce ethanol from corn grown by local farmers and will also produce distillers grains, a high quality feed supplement ideal for the region’s growing dairy industry. Ethanol from the plant will be blended with gasoline for use in the transportation sector. The facility, which will be managed by The Andersons, is expected to be completed by September 2006, and will involve an aggregate investment of approximately $86 million. The designer and general contractor will be ICM, Inc. of Colwich, KS, an industry leader in ethanol technology and plant construction.
The Andersons and New Energy Capital are joined by three other equity investors, and CoBank of Omaha, Nebraska will lead a consortium of farm credit banks to provide construction and term financing. Plant construction will involve approximately 250 new biofuels jobs and operations will require approximately 30 full time equivalent staff.
New Energy Capital Corp. is a New England-based company that invests in, owns and operates renewable energy and distributed generation projects. These include a biodiesel production plant in Delaware, an ethanol facility in Indiana, cogeneration projects in California and Massachusetts, and a biomass power plant in Maine. The Company is funded by VantagePoint Venture Partners (www.vpvp.com) one of the nation’s largest and most active venture capital firms, and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS).