August 19, 2011

The U.S. Department of Energy has conditionally committed to a $134 million loan guarantee for Abengoa Bioenergy, and that is paving the way for a first-of-its kind ethanol plant in the southwest Kansas town of Hugoton.

Abengoa plans to distill ethanol from cellulosic biomass — typically crop waste, such as corn stalks — using a new technology it has developed. The Hugoton facility would be the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, the company said in a news release. Typical ethanol plants, including Abengoa’s facility at Colwich, distill fuel from grain.

Abengoa says it will start construction “in the very near future.”

Construction of the plant is expected to generate 300 jobs in Hugoton, a town of about 4,000 people. Once online, the plant is expected to employ 65 people and have a payroll of $4.5 million.