Mascoma To Produce Switchgrass Ethanol

Biofuels start-up Mascoma is joining with the University of Tennessee to build what it says will be the first U.S. plant to make ethanol out of switchgrass. The plant, to be located in Monroe County, Tenn., is expected to produce 5 million gal of ethanol per year by 2009. Tennessee's Biofuels Initiative will provide $40 million for construction and $27 million for R&D, including incentives for farmers to grow switchgrass. Mascoma is also planning to build cellulosic ethanol plants in Michigan and New York. Meanwhile, VeraSun Energy, one of the country's largest producers of traditional corn-based ethanol, says it is suspending construction on a new plant in Reynolds, Ind., due to a recent sharp drop in the price of ethanol.