By Russ Pankonin
    The Imperial Republican
     Imperial will be the site of one of three ethanol plants to be built by Central Bio-Energy, LLC, headquartered in Grand Island.
     Other plants are planned for St. Paul in Howard County and near Utica in Seward County.
     The company announced their plans at a press conference in the Rotunda of the State Capitol building in Lincoln last Thursday.
     Officials of CBE were joined by Gov. Dave Heineman in making the announcement.
     The St. Paul plant will be the first plant to be constructed, with ground breaking expected before the end of the year. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2008.
     Construction on the Utica plant is expected to begin in the spring of 2007 with completion slated for the summer of 2008.
     The Imperial plant construction is slated to begin in the summer of 2007 with completion in late 2008. CBE has an option on land at the southeast edge of Imperial for the plant.
     Each of the plants will produce 100 million gallons of ethanol annually.
     President Gordon Glade of Grand Island said the three plants will make CBE one of the leading ethanol producers in Nebraska and among the top 10 in the country.
     Glade has founded a number of successful businesses, including AXIS Capital Inc., which is one of the leading independent leasing companies in the country. That business is also headquartered in Grand Island.
     CBE will invest $500 million in the three plants, which are projected to each employ 50 people with an annual payroll of approximately $2 million.
     Glade said each of the plants will use about 36 million bushels of corn annually, with the by-product of distillers grains available for local and area livestock feeders.
     He also expected each of the plants to create $240 million of local economic impact, including the potential of additional job creation resulting from the plant's operation.
     Approximately 150-200 construction jobs will be created during construction at each plant.
     Glade said the company has signed contracts with a Wisconsin firm for construction and with Delta-T for the engineering and technology design for the three plants.
     He indicated they are close to reaching their fund-raising goals and have held investor meetings in each of the three communities.
     A meeting was held in Imperial Friday evening with potential local investors.
     When asked about corn supplies, Glade said they have entered into an agreement with Frenchman Valley Coop for corn procurement, marketing distillers grain and risk management.
     He said more than 140 million bushels of corn is grown within a 50-mile radius of Imperial. In addition, their research shows there are more than 230,000 head of cattle on feed within that same radius.
    Governor praises projects
     Governor Dave Heineman said these plants represent an incredible investment in the state and proof that Nebraska continues to be a leader in the nation in renewable fuels.
     He said the ethanol industry has provided one of the best economic development engines possible for rural Nebraska.
     Ethanol has proved to be Nebraska's best value-added product, Heineman said.
     Within the next year, Heineman said Nebraska will become the second-leading ethanol producer in the country.