06/28/06 British company to make ethanol in Idaho

An English based company plans to reopen the JR Simplot ethanol plant near Caldwell later this year. ED&F Man Alcohol will lease the Simplot plant which had produced ethanol from potato waste until it closed nearly two years ago. An ED&F spokesman says the plant will produce five million gallons of ethanol from potato waste and corn which will be supplied by Simplot. If the Caldwell plant is up and running this year it will be the first ethanol producer in state. Wyoming Energy hopes to begin ethanol production next year at another former Simplot plant in Heyburn. Jim Glancey says he has buyers waiting to take the ethanol. GLANCEY "A demand for more production. You can pretty much put your finger on seven and a half as a mandate and I expect that we're going to get somewhere near nine to ten billion gallons is what we'll end up with by 2012." Canadian based Iogen has put the Idaho Falls area at the top of the list for its proposed 60 million gallon ethanol plant that will use straw as a feedstock. Iogen says if it can get some government loan guarantees it will start building next year. And look for Treasure Valley Renewable Resources to make an announcement this summer on ground breaking for its 30 million gallon ethanol plant in eastern Oregon near Ontario. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott