Published: 07:22 AM, Mon Mar 18, 2013
Construction on a $170 million refinery in Clinton to convert 20 million tons of grass into fuel each year could start as early as this fall.
Chemtex, an international company with offices in Wilmington, plans to build the refinery on 166 acres in Sampson County. The plant would mirror one already built in Italy. If construction begins as planned, the plant could open in 2015.
Yet hurdles remain.
"We're working very hard to try to make it a reality," said Dennis Leong, an executive vice president at Chemtex. "I'm very confident that in 2015, this plant will be open somewhere, and I should say we're still very hopeful and it's our intention to open in North Carolina. It's really making sure it's a project that's welcome in the state."
It will take at least 20,000 acres of energy crops such as miscanthus and switchgrass to feed the refinery. Chemtex has developed its own technology to extract the energy from green plants and soft woods.
The plan is to sign up farmers near the plant to grow materials on land they aren't already using to grow food.
Chemtex estimates the facility will help create more than 300 jobs in the region while helping the nation reduce its dependence on foreign oil. And that could be just the beginning. Chemtex documents say North Carolina has enough available land to support as many as 15 refineries, which could mean 5,000 new jobs and a $2 billion boost to the state's economy.
The N.C. Biofuels Center has identified 100,000 acres of spray fields in Sampson, Duplin and Wayne counties that could potentially be used for biocrops. But state environmental workers are still studying how to plant the crops in spray fields in a way that complies with waste regulations.
The ethanol produced at the plant could be sold to fuel blenders and end up in cars' gasoline tanks.
Staff writer John Ramsey can be reached at ramseyj@fayobserver.com or 486-3574.
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