Work begins on East Tennessee biofuels plant, company adds racing fuels research component
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Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Zone : Energy business
Published : 13 Jun 2007 22:01
Wartburg, Tennessee – Construction has begun on the first bio-diesel plant in the 16-county Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley of East Tennessee.
Northington Energy’s $3 million facility near Wartburg in Morgan County will convert soybeans into fuel. Company officials also announced they will use the facility to work with Volkswagen and Suzuki on an engine testing program involving highly refined bio-fuels for auto racing.
Company spokeswoman Lisa Horn said the facility in Flat Fork Business Park – on newly named Green Park Drive -- is “good for the environment, farmers and consumers.”
Green is big in the 16-county Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley. The region hosts bio-energy research at the University of Tennessee, at nearby Oak Ridge National Lab and at the National Transportation Research Center. In addition, a $100 million joint venture bio-production facility in Loudon, Tennessee was dedicated last week. The joint venture by DuPont and UK-based Tate & Lyle has begun converting corn into bio-PDO, an environmentally-friendly substance used to make carpets, clothes and cosmetics. In a separate part of the Loudon, Tennessee, plant, UK-based Tate & Lyle produces $60 million in ethanol yearly.
Northington Energy’s new plant is part of an overall effort to bring jobs and capital investment and improved educational opportunities to Morgan County.
Roane State Community College announced last week it is building a campus in Wartburg, the Morgan County seat. Economic development officials have worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop Flat Fork Business Park into a low environmental impact property aimed at attracting environmentally-friendly businesses. Morgan County is also cooperating with Roane and Cumberland Counties in developing a 1,000-acre Plateau Partnership industrial park near Interstate 40, the main east-west interstate connecting Bristol, Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis.
“It is so good to see our county on the forefront of new technology instead of being years behind and playing catch up,” said Morgan County Mayor Becky Ruppe. “Northington's decision to locate here will have a tremendous impact on economic development in our county.”
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