Verenium to launch largest commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant; $250 million 36 Mgy Florida project starts this year

In Florida, Verenium announced that it would commence construction of what it termed the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. The facility will be located in Highlands County, between Orlando and Lake Okeechobee.

The company said that it would receive $7 million in support for the project from the state of Florida’s Farm-to-Fuel fund, and expected to break ground on the 36 Mgy facility in the second half of the year. The project will cost between $250 and $300 million and will use non-food grasses as feedstock.

The company’s 1.4 Mgy demonstration-scale plant in Jennings, Louisiana commenced production this month , and capping off an excellent start to the year was news from NASDAQ that the company was once again in compliance with the exchange’s minimum market cap of $50 million. The company announced $133 million in losses in the third quarter.

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