Weather Delays Force Aventine Aurora West Ethanol to Move Plant Startup to August

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Incorporated (OTC:AVRW) (Dallas, Texas) has delayed the start-up of its Aurora West ethanol production facility until August of this year, due to rainy weather and wet working conditions in the region this spring. The 113 million-gallon-per-year plant, which is in Aurora, Illinois, was set to go operational this month. Completion and commissioning is now set for August, just in time for the new corn crop.

The plant has been plagued by scheduling since ground was broken back in late 2006. Construction was halted in late 2008, and Aventine filed for bankruptcy. The contractor, Kiewit Energy Corporation (Omaha, Nebraska), cancelled its engineering, procurement and construction contract to build the plant in 2009, citing objections with Aventine's bankruptcy reorganization plan.

Aventine and Kiewit patched up the relationship, and construction resumed in early 2010. When completed in August, the Aurora West plant will have the capacity of producing 113 million gallons per year of fuel ethanol. The plant is on an 86-acre site next to Nebraska Energy LLC, which has been operating since 1995. The plant will utilize existing Aurora Cooperative grain-handling systems to bring corn into the plant.

Aventine's Nebraska Energy plant in Aurora produces 50 million gallons per year of ethanol, and the company's first plant in Pekin, Illinois, produces 100 million gallons per year. The newest plant in Aventine's portfolio that officially opened in April is in Mount Vernon, Indiana, and produces 110 million gallons per year. The company also acquired a shuttered 38 million-gallon-per-year plant in Canton, Illinois, but is waiting for more favorable market conditions before opening it for operation.

Industrial Info's Databases provides a comprehensive outline of all current development activities in the emerging alternative fuels market. Our North American Biodiesel Database covers 136 operational plants and 90 plants under development. Our North American Ethanol Database covers 214 plants currently in operation and 138 plants under various development phases. Our North American Wood Fuel Pellet Database includes 63 operational plants producing greater than 25,000 tons annually, and 38 projects under progress.

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