Ozarks ethanol company selects second plant site

In a news release, Gulfstream Bioflex Energy LLC said the official start date for construction won’t be announced until the plant’s exact location is determined.

Once the site is selected, the $220 million plant would be built and operating within 16 months, according to the release. GBE officials expect the plant to create up to 65 full-time jobs.

In August, GBE unveiled its plans to build a $185 million ethanol plant on 252 acres east of Rogersville – a proposal that was met with fierce opposition from surrounding property owners concerned about their groundwater supply. GBE officials said the plant was one of three it planned to build in Missouri.

A company consultant said the Monroe City plant had no effect on the company’s plans to build the proposed Webster County plant.

Greg Wilmoth, president and CEO of GBE, was unavailable for comment, but he said in the release that GBE was thrilled with the warm welcome his company received from Monroe City officials.

“We are especially pleased with this location,” Wilmoth said. “Monroe City provides an exceptional site for an ethanol plant with access to rail, natural gas, available work force and markets for all products.”

The plant will convert corn into fuel-grade ethanol by fermenting the starch portion of corn and distilling it into alcohol. The ethanol is produced from field corn normally fed to livestock, not sweet corn consumed by humans, according to the release.

Vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber left over from ethanol production will be used as distiller’s grain, a value-added livestock feed.

The proposed facility also could generate more than 700 direct and indirect jobs, GBE said in the release.

“The thing that is most attractive about this plant is the added good jobs for our citizens and the economic boost for the city,” Monroe City Administrator Jim Burns said in the release. “We are an agriculture-oriented community, and this looks like a perfect fit.”