Huntington targeted for biofuel projects

Huntington targeted for biofuel projects
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Fort Wayne,IN,USA
... to 100 jobs. NuFuels LLC wants to build the ethanol and biodiesel plants on US 24, northeast of downtown Huntington. The project ...
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 A Fort Wayne company is considering building alternative fuel plants in Huntington in a project that could create 75 to 100 jobs.

NuFuels LLC wants to build the ethanol and biodiesel plants on U.S. 24, northeast of downtown Huntington. The project could bring “millions of dollars of investment” to the area, the company said in a prepared statement Thursday.

If NuFuels follows through on its plans, the project could be the single largest economic development investment undertaken in Huntington County, said Carol Pugh, executive director of the Huntington County United Economic Development Corp., in a prepared statement.

Company spokesman Brose McVey declined to disclose the size or cost of the proposed plants. He also declined to say whether the company intends to construct one or two plants. NuFuels is still finalizing the design of the plants and would not release more information for competitive reasons, McVey said.

NuFuels estimates the project could create 75 to 100 jobs, McVey said. The company has not yet determined wages for the positions.

The firm has options to buy land in Park 24, an industrial park on the city’s east side, Pugh said in her statement. NuFuels plans to make a final decision on the site within a few months, the company said.

About 30 neighbors concerned about the plant’s potential environmental effect are forming a non-profit group to study the project. Biodiesel and ethanol plants generally have a poor environmental track record, said Jim Hittler, who lives a half-mile northwest of the site and is involved in Huntington County Citizen Advocates for a Responsible Environment. Many alternative fuel plants release carcinogenic chemicals into the air, he said, and also can pollute groundwater.

The residents want more information about how the plant would be built and what it would release into the air. The company and local government officials have not provided many details about the proposal, Hittler said. If the plant is not monitored, it could create an unhealthy situation, he said.

“It’s going to impact a large part of this community,” he said.

NuFuels expects to use state-of-the-art equipment in the proposed plant to meet state and federal environmental standards, the company said. The company’s founders want to make alternative vehicle fuels from corn and soybeans demonstrating their commitment to the environment, McVey said. The company will provide additional information to neighbors as soon as possible, he said.

“We’re very, very committed to being a good neighbor and steward of the environment,” McVey said.

NuFuels is working with a steering committee of about 15 local farmers and agribusiness leaders. That group formed more than a year ago to investigate ways to add value to local crops, said John E. Hacker, a member of the county council who is on the steering committee. Huntington County United Economic Development Corp. introduced the steering committee to NuFuels executives, said Hacker, who is a farmer.

The proposed plant would feature cutting-edge technology designed to make it more efficient than competing alternative fuels plants, Hacker said.

NuFuels’ plants would compete with others proposed in northeast Indiana. A subsidiary of Paris-based Louis Dreyfus Group broke ground on what is expected to be the world’s largest biodiesel plant and a soybean-crushing facility in Kosciusko County last month. American Ag Fuels LLC produces biodiesel at a plant in Defiance, Ohio. Indiana Bio-Energy LLC plans to build a $150 million ethanol plant in Wells County.