A lack of investment capitol is taking its toll on a Georgia cellulosic ethanol plant. According to media reports, the Range Fuels plant in Soperton will temporarily shut down after producing a small quantity of cellulosic ethanol. Range Fuels just announced in August 2010 the successful production of cellulosic methanol using non-food biomass at a Georgia biofuels plant in the first phase of an operation to ultimately produce next generation ethanol.
The Colorado-based company received the first ever loan guarantee for a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant from USDA almost exactly two years ago and a grant from the Department of Energy in 2008 with plans to produce cellulosic biofuel from wood chips. The company has received over 300 million dollars in funding since breaking ground for the plant in 2007, but have not been able to get enough money to expand the facility for commercial production. There are also reportedly some “technical problems” with the plant.
