Renewable Energy Solar Energy Wind Energy Geothermal Energy Bioenergy Hydropower

Mascoma Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Now Operational

March 2, 2009 | 2 Comments

Do you like this news?

Bookmark

Feed

Massachusetts, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Mascoma Corporation announced at the end of last week that its demonstration facility in Rome, New York, is now producing ethanol from non-food cellulosic biomass. Completed in December 2008, the company says that the plant is one of the largest facilities converting non-food biomass into cellulosic ethanol in the United States.

The company has committed to partnering with local businesses for feedstock supply and is currently purchasing wood chips from a local sawmill.

The facility currently has a production capacity of up to 200,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year. Mascoma began constructing the plant in early 2008. The demonstration facility has the flexibility to run on numerous biomass feedstocks including wood chips, tall grasses, corn stover (residual corn stalks) and sugar cane bagasse.

The company has committed to partnering with local businesses for feedstock supply and is currently purchasing wood chips from a local sawmill.

The plant was funded in part by grants from the State of New York that were approved in December 2006. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Power Authority (NYPA) provided the funding on the State's behalf. Research partners at the facility include State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Cornell University and Clarkson University.

"The early success of this project demonstrates that feedstocks for renewable fuels can be harvested right here in New York State," said Francis Murray Jr., president and CEO of NYSERDA.

Bioenergy

2 Reader Comments

Comment
1 of 2

fred-linn-151968

March 3, 2009

I would rather see 100 plants this size producing ethanol in smaller communities than one giant plant.
I'm sure if it is successful, output can be expanded. But it seems to me that the economics is better for the country as a whole, and we would have a safer more reliable supply with distributed production.

Comment
2 of 2

rob-mcdonald-45966

March 4, 2009

Fred, a major variable cost driver for this technology is transportation cost of the feedstock. From that perspective it makes sense to have smaller plants that are colocated with, or geographically centralized to the source. On the other hand these plants are capital intensive and economies of scale will likely drive them to at least an order of magnitude larger than the demonstration plant mentioned in this article. Community governments should plan ahead to create a business environment and financial assistance that will encourage small to medium scale plants.

Add Your Comment

Registered users, please make sure to Sign-In. We and others want to know your ideas and opinions. If you are not yet Registered -- it's quick and easy. Just click below.
Thanks!