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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Matthew
Maciorkoski |
State Rep. Camille “Bud”
George |
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Rep. George: Sunnyside Ethanol issued final permit
HARRISBURG, May 21 – State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, D-74 of Clearfield County, today said Sunnyside Ethanol LLC has received its eighth and final
permit needed before construction can begin later this year on the $316 million
project in Curwensville.
“The
state Department of Environmental Protection has approved Sunnyside’s
air-quality permit, opening the door for construction to begin in late 2007,”
Rep. George said. “Sunnyside is well on its way to being the first ethanol
plant built in Pennsylvania, which is a credit to its management team and its
belief in Clearfield County.”
The
project includes a $160 million plant that would produce as much as 88 million
gallons of ethanol annually as well as a $150 million power plant and a $6.5
million carbon dioxide plant.
“As many as 1,000 construction jobs would be created during the 28 months it
would take to build the plant,” Rep. George said. “About 70 full-time jobs are
anticipated just at the ethanol facility and as many as 700 more jobs would be
created in the area through the plant’s use of waste coal to create its own
power supply, which can be shared locally and regionally.”
The site, home to the former Howes Leather Co. tannery, is designated a
Brownfield and contains more than 30,000 tons of waste material. Sunnyside, in
conjunction with the Clearfield County Industrial Development Authority, will
be cleaning the site before construction begins.
Rep. George said the plant would rid the region of 290,000 tons of waste coal
each year, eliminating a blight that has wreaked havoc on local water supplies
and habitat. Carbon dioxide produced during ethanol production would be sold to
the beverage industry. The plant would use 30 million bushels of corn a year to
produce ethanol, and markets also exist for the corn residue.
Sunnyside Ethanol already invested more than four years and several million dollars in the Curwensville project.
Sunnyside has an agreement with the Delta-T Corporation of Williamsburg, Va., to be the process provider for the plant.
While Sunnyside Ethanol is the name of the Curwensville project, it is part of
a larger Pennsylvania-based company, Consus Ethanol, LLC, which has plans for
five, commercial ethanol facilities across the Commonwealth.
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