Site Of Projected Ethanol Plant Off Old State Road 8

VENUS - Brad Krohn said it is "really exciting" for his company and it is "tremendously honored" to have received a $7 million grant for a proposed sugar to ethanol biorefinery in southern Highlands County.

But Krohn, president of United States EnviroFuels, knows he has to get permits in place from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Highlands County before the first gallon of ethanol is produced. The Highlands County Commission must also sign off on the plant.

It typically takes eight to 12 months for permitting, but Krohn is hopeful it will get done sooner.

The plant is planned to be built on a 40-acre site next to Highlands Greenhouses Inc. off of Old State Road 8. Krohn said there are environmental benefits to the location, noting that the ethanol plant will provide water for irrigation and use the steam to provide heat for greenhouses in the winter.

It is a $47 million project to construct a 20 million-gallon-a-year ethanol production plant using sugar products. The primary feedstock is sweet sorghum which is not a food crop, uses less water and fertilizer than sugar or corn crops and grows rapidly, according to a press release from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Water used in the production process will be treated and reused and other byproducts will be sold as high- potassium fertilizer.

"We came to Highlands County for the grower base and the potential to grow sweet sorghum," he said.

According to Krohn, the plant will create approximately 35 jobs. He didn't say what the wage will be, but he described them as "high-paying jobs compared to the average salary."

Krohn said it's a "win-win-win" situation for local growers, economic development in Highlands and for the state to decrease dependency on gas.

United States EnviroFuels opened in 2004.