Many have talked about it but held back until grants or additional government funding becomes available. Still others continue to study the economic viability of such a venture. But rather than wait, two Mississippi companies are investing private money to lead the way in the production of corn-based ethanol fuel.
The first joint venture between an energy company and an agribusiness company was announced on Oct. 26, in Vicksburg, Miss., as Ergon Ethanol, Inc., and Bunge North America, Inc., broke ground on what is to be the largest ethanol plant in the Deep South.
The $100 million facility will provide a key link between Bunge−s grain-handling facilities on the Mississippi River and Ergon−s petroleum refining and marketing assets.
Producing this renewable, clean-burning fuel will require approximately 21 million bushels of corn each year, creating new markets for regional corn growers. The facility also will generate corn-based co-products which are excellent feed ingredients for area poultry and livestock producers.
The state-of-the-art, 60-million gallon a year plant will be constructed on the 27-acre site of Bunge−s grain storage facility located in the Vicksburg Industrial Harbor Development on Haining Road.
“We are very pleased to bring an important volume of renewable fuel to Mississippi that will displace millions of barrels of imported foreign crude oil and gasoline with clean-burning transportation fuel made from American grown grains,” says Don Davis of Ergon.
Bailey Ragan, vice president and general manager of Bunge Grain, says, “Bunge−s roots in the region made partnering with Ergon a natural fit for our first ethanol venture in this area. It−s wonderful to see our separate industries of agriculture and energy come together in a way that will help both Bunge and Ergon build our businesses, build the Vicksburg community, and build energy security for our nation.”
Construction on the facility already has begun and ultimately will bring at least 120 construction jobs to Warren County. When completed, Bunge-Ergon Vicksburg, LLC, will employ approximately 31 people and have a $1.5 million annual payroll.
Leslie Lampton, Sr., founder of Ergon, Inc., says the plant produces no waste product. It does produce a solid by-product, which can be used as chicken feed.
The Vicksburg ethanol plant could double in size within the first year or so of production, which could easily use all of the corn produced in Mississippi, he says.
The facility will be the first “legal” corn processing plant in Mississippi, according to Don Davis, executive vice president of Ergon. “Today, the state imports 60 percent of its fuel needs. This puts us in a dangerous position,” he says.
One answer to the problem, says Davis, is increasing ethanol production. The $100 million investment represented by the Vicksburg plant, he says, will benefit the plant−s employees, construction workers, truck drivers and Mississippi and Louisiana farmers.
“We are always about healthy growth,” he says. “The Lampton family−s continued investment has made this possible, and we are honored to be partnered with Bunge. We expect this plant to set us apart from the others.”
Davis urged Mississippians to go to their service stations and request E10 fuel.
Bailey Ragan with Bunge remembers delivering corn to the Jack Daniel−s distillery when he was a young man. “Bunge is a global agribusiness and the world−s largest processor of oilseeds. Mississippi, and specifically Vicksburg, is a key facility for us,” he says.
The Mississippi location, says Ragan, provides access to both rail and river, and it establishes a relationship with farmers that will insure a supply of product for the plant. “This is a partnership that can compete in this growing industry. We pledge our efforts to make this a project that others will point to, showing what neighbors can do when they invest in their own communities,” he says.
The plant−s groundbreaking represents a great day for Mississippi, says Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss. “Hopes for a diversity and abundance of energy and independence in fuel needs will make a tremendous difference for Mississippi. Today is an example of the new energy of tomorrow at work,” he says.
Speaking of Ergon−s founder, Leslie Lampton, Sr., Pickering says, “One father of four sons can make a difference in this community and in this world.”
The Vicksburg plant marks Mississippi−s first ethanol venture that actually has reached the point of a groundbreaking, says Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. “This is a great partnership. The corn raised to support this effort will be significant, meaning increased opportunities for farmers in our region and for the businesses supporting agriculture. It also helps us move towards energy independence,” says Thompson.
Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., congratulated both companies, saying Ergon is one of Mississippi−s premier companies led by an “outstanding family.” The first “legal” ethanol plant is a milestone for the state, he says.
“This is the first ethanol plant here where construction has actually begun,” says Lott. “All of the ramifications for energy and agriculture also are symbolically important for Mississippi and for the nation. Mississippi is getting into a position where we can be out on the point for energy production not just for Mississippi, but for the entire nation.”
Lott thinks the methods available for transportation in Mississippi currently are underestimated. “This gives us the capability that a lot of other states don−t or can−t have. Now we can add ethanol production to that package that we already have. This is a tremendous private sector initiative. We are on your team, and we are determined to make this work so that Mississippi will never be in last place again,” he says.
Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., says farming is still the most important industry in Mississippi. “With this new facility and this partnership of the world-class economic forces of Ergon and Les Lampton, this facility has the capacity to use 21 million bushels of corn each year. In 2006, 325,000 acres of corn produced 32 million bushels of corn − this plant will use more than half of that,” says Cochran.;
The new ethanol plant, he says, will potentially increase farm income and create new jobs. “This facility will allow Mississippi to be a very big part of this industry and will make Mississippi a major force in renewable energy production in the Southeast. Mississippi State University has created a center for renewable energy research that will help to contribute more and better jobs for the people of our state.
The ethanol plant will operate with no governmental subsidies, says Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, adding that it will be a profitable business “It will prove to people that you can produce ethanol in Mississippi with no subsidy and you can make a profit doing it,” he says.
Mississippi will become a reliable source for ethanol, says Barbour. “Others have said they will build ethanol production plants if the government will provide them with a $25 million subsidy to construct it. Ergon, in comparison, is leading the energy production industry as a private company. Having more energy is critical to our future, and we recognize the opportunity to be one of the premier reliable energy production sources in the country,” he says.
Ergon Ethanol, Inc., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ergon, Inc., with headquarters in Jackson, Miss. Ergon, Inc., which is privately held, operates under six primary business segments including refining and marketing, asphalt and emulsions, transportation and terminaling, oil and gas, embedded computing, and real estate. Ergon owns and operates three petroleum refineries located in Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia, producing gasoline, low-sulfur diesel, lubricant and process base oils, asphalts and other specialty products.
Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited, is a vertically integrated food and feed ingredient company, supplying raw and processed agricultural commodities and specialized food ingredients to a wide range of customers in the livestock, poultry, food processor, food service and bakery industries. With headquarters in St. Louis, Bunge North America and its subsidiaries operate grain elevators, oilseed processing plants, edible oil refineries and packaging facilities, and corn dry mills in the United States, Canada and Mexico. DBJ
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