Pros, cons of planned ethanol plant voiced at public hearing

The meeting was shorter than the drive to Wellton for a public hearing on an application by a company wanting to develop an ethanol plant in eastern Yuma County.

But speakers in that time managed to hit some key issues of both sides regarding AgriNext's application for an air quality permit by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

AgriNext needs the permit before it can proceed with plans to develop an ethanol plant near the northeast corner of Avenue 47-1/2E and Highway 80 near Tacna. The proposed plant could produce 50 million gallons of ethanol a year, with potential to increase production to 65 million gallons. It would use milo (a drought-resistant grain sorghum) grown locally as well as imported feed stock to produce the fuel.

Yuma County Supervisor Greg Ferguson noted that the board has voted in favor of the project four times. But while he's not opposed to the project, he said he has some concerns about the ADEQ permit.

One issue is the source for electricity to power the plant, he said. More specifically, his concern is that AgriNext might be planning to build its own power generating plant using coal rather than natural gas.

"It was never presented to the supervisors for that," he said.

In addition, he questioned the availability of enough acreage to grow the quantity of milo that would be needed to supply the ethanol plant.

Ferguson also expressed concern that while ADEQ has said the ethanol plant will be a minor source of air pollutants, he has seen statistics from other plants around the nation that suggest emissions might be higher than stated.

"I expect all these issues to be cleared up," responded Julie Engle of Greater Yuma Economic Development Corp., who has been working with AgriNext to bring the project to Yuma County.

She said that technology for ethanol fuel production is "rapidly evolving. The plants considered to be emitters are old with old technology. This new plant will be built with the brand new technology."

As for the possible use of coal generation, Dr. Sultan Lalani, who is president of AgriNext, said it was decided that natural gas wasn't feasible because of the lack of an available source. Furthermore, he said, it has been found that coal actually would be cleaner than natural gas.

Besides, he said, that is only a backup plan if another source of power can't be found.

Lalani also defended the use of milo to make the ethanol. "This is the best climate to grow it and it uses less water than corn. The farmers say they can produce enough."

Roger Sughroue of Yuma wondered what all the fuss was about.

"With the new technology, I'm sure all these issues will be taken care of," he said. "I know farmers need another crop to plant and we've got to have something going to create jobs. I do want it and I think it will help the community."

ADEQ will take the comments under advisement as it makes a final determination on the permit, said Scott Baggiore, who presided over the meeting.

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Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasun.com or 539-6853.