Ethanol plant in Lake County fuel for thought
ETHANOL : Proposal would extract fuel from recycling bins

BY BILL DOLAN
bdolan@nwitimes.com
219.662.5328

CROWN POINT | Lake County officials are listening to developers wanting to turn local refuse into fuel.

"We have a group coming in who wants to build a $72 million plant in Lake County," Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Schererville.

"This would eliminate the recycling pickup cities and towns have to pay for and would satisfy all the people in the unincorporated area who are screaming for recycling, too," he said.

Ethanol Power LLC is scheduled to give a presentation here tonight to the County Solid Waste Management District Board.

"All we have to do is supply them with 40 acres. He said no location has been picked for the recycling plant. There are no smoke stacks. It's all under one roof," Scheub said, adding the business could pay the county regular fees to operate.

It could be one of at least 17 ethanol plants being developed in Indiana. There are now 110 factories in the country producing ethanol, a hydrocarbon alternative to gasoline, from corn supplies. It is being marketed under the name E-85.

Experts say rising demand for corn as a fuel source will reduce amounts available for animal feed or sweeteners and reduce corn exports. They are demanding ethanol be made from other sources.

"This is an awesome opportunity," Scheub said.