Energy from yard waste and such

A high-tech facility in southwestern Indian River County recently started generating electricity from yard waste and other non-food vegetation.  Early in 2013, it will begin selling ethanol for motor vehicles.  In America’s search for clean, renewable energy, this is a very big deal.  It was even written up in The New York Times.  The facility is called the INEOS New Planet Bio-Energy Center.  It’s a joint venture of INEOS – that’s I-N-E-O-S for international ethylene-oxide sales, a chemical giant based in Europe – and New Planet Energy of California.  The $130 million project is the first of its size to be registered by the U.S. government and has received a $50 million federal grant.  It is located near Oslo Road and Southwest 74^{th Avenue, next to the county landfill – which will be one source of vegetative waste.  The electricity is a byproduct of making ethanol.  Eventually the Bio-Energy Center is projected to produce 8 million gallons of ethanol each year and enough electricity to power the center and also 14-hundred Indian River County homes.  And to think that on this site, Ocean Spray once produced grapefruit juice.  For 88.9 FM, this is Paul Janensch.}