Range Fuels using wood waste to produce ethanol in Georgia

BROOMFIELD – Range Fuels Inc. is teaming with the U.S. Department of Energy to put wood chip-based ethanol in your gas tank.

Broomfield-based Range Fuels plans to build the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in the United States, in Treutlen County, Ga. Range will receive up to $76 million from the Department of Energy if it is able achieve several goals.

“If we do our job we will get all of it. There are certain milestones we need to achieve over several years,´ said Mitch Mandich, chief executive of Range Fuels. He added the design and construction and operation of the plant all will be supervised. “(The grant) will come over several years.”

Mandich said there is no date set to break ground, but Range Fuels plans to start during the “first half of this year.”

According to Matt Hartwig, communications director for the Renewable Fuels Association, Range has to come up with 60 percent of the costs – the $76 million will account for the other 40 percent.

Hartwig and the association have worked closely with the grant program. He believes it is a step in the right direction for environmentally friendly, renewable fuels.

“This is a very important step in developing a commercial-scale cellulosic industry,” Hartwig said. “This company has the technology ready, but because of the costs, a partnership with the federal government means it can accelerate its plans and go bigger and faster.”

In order to be considered for the grant, the Department of Energy required companies to have a renewable and sustainable feedstock – a term used for alternative fuels sources.

Larry Robinson, Range’s vice president of operations, had prior relationships in Georgia and knew the wood waste from the lumber industry would serve as an acceptable raw material. He flew to Georgia and spent time discussing the proposed plant with the Department of Forestry, local timber companies and county governments.

“About 20 percent of every tree in Georgia is left behind in the forest to either rot or to be burned,” Mandich said. “There is no practical use for that wood at all, so that’s where we come in.”

Once Range’s proposed plant is up and running, it will sell its cellulosic ethanol to local “blenders” in Georgia. Blenders are gasoline companies that take the ethanol, mix it with gasoline and sell it.

Ethanol is found in two types of gasoline – E-10 and E-85. E-10 is 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. E-85 is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E-10  is far more common and can be used in any car in the United States. E-85 can only be used in a small percentage of vehicles – specifically named “flexible fuel vehicles.”

Currently, 99 percent of ethanol produced gets mixed in with E-10 fuels. Michelle Kautz, deputy director for the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, said the emergence of commercial cellulosic ethanol plants “will establish more availability for E-85 across the country.”

According to Hartwig, in order to blend 10 percent of ethanol into every gallon of gasoline in the country, there would need to be “14 billion to 15 billion gallons of ethanol.” Last year the United States produced 5 billion.

One of the main reasons the government is pushing for cellulosic ethanol is the pressure ethanol production puts on the corn industry. Brian Jennings, the executive vice president for the American Coalition for Ethanol, said, “We can only rely on corn and grain for a small amount of the total fuel situation.”

Jennings is pleased about the environmental ramifications that coincide with cellulosic ethanol. “The importance of cellulosic ethanol cannot be understated, this is a step that needs to be taken,” Jennings said.

“Making fuel out of ethanol can provide some extraordinary greenhouse benefits. We believe this whole thing will be very energy efficient.”

Another plus is the emergence of jobs in the plant’s surrounding areas. Mandich said Range Fuels will hire a team in the area. It will have some of its employees flying back and forth to make sure things are running appropriately. The plant is expected to provide 70 new jobs.

Jennings believes the plant will inject some money into the area. “It will have a significant economic impact and these plants will provide high-wage jobs for these areas,” Jennings said. “It will provide different economic activity in these rural areas where these plants will need services from local companies.”

Range had plans to build a plant in Georgia prior to receiving the grant. Range Fuels and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue announced the plans Feb. 7, 21 days before the grant was announced.

The grant enabled Range to get its plans moving quicker than anticipated. “We weren’t waiting for the grant; we figured that we would raise enough money to move forward on our own. With the grant we can scale it with more velocity,” Mandich said. “There has been a pretty significant degree of testing, but it’s been on a modest scale. It’s our job to take this technology and scale it to commercial scale and make it economically viable.”

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