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August 20, 2009
Connecticut-based American Energy Enterprises Inc. plans to construct a commercial-scale ethanol production facility in New Milford, Conn., and according to company chairman Christopher Brown, will use wood waste to produce ethanol at a cost of 80 cents to 85 cents per gallon. The plant is expected to begin production in mid-2010 and will initially produce up to 15 MMgy. Once production commences, units will be added monthly to increase capacity until the plant reaches its full capacity of 80-100 MMgy.
The project was launched several years ago, but experienced some delays. "We, like all companies, had a bit of a hit when the Wall Street money went down, but we've back-filled it in a good way," Brown said. The company is awaiting approval on a $50 million U.S. DOE grant application it recently submitted and is hopeful it will be approved by the end of August. However, Brown said the project will move forward with or without the grant money. "We have funding for it," he said. "We're in the final negotiation on permitting and the land in New Milford so we can move ahead and break ground within the next two months." Brown said the local community has been very supportive of the project as have local and state government officials.
A contributing factor to the company's low production cost is its plan to acquire feedstock at no cost or, in some cases, at a profit. Brown said that tipping fees for wood waste at landfills and wood chip companies in the region range up to $60 per ton. American Energy will offer lower fees or take the wood waste for free. "We're in good shape with the municipalities, the local tree groomers and handlers of that material, and some of the waste companies," he said, adding that contracts are in place to supply the plant with triple its need for feedstock for the first five years. Brown said the option to ship feedstock by rail to the facility from over 100 miles away is available, but so far, the 1 million tons of feedstock required annually can be acquired from within a 15- mile radius of the plant.
Another significant piece of American Energy's business plan is an agreement with Perdue University to license yeast developed by researcher Dr. Nancy Ho which Brown said will dramatically increase ethanol yields. Brown said the company initially believed it would produce between 30 gallons and 50 gallons of ethanol per metric ton of feedstock but, with the addition of the Perdue yeast, yields could grow to between 80 gallons and 100 gallons per ton of feedstock.
Indigenous waste wood, which usually consists of a mix of hard and soft woods, will be the primary feedstock for the facility. Brown said the preferred feedstock is fast-growing poplar, but "we'll take what we can get." The company eventually plans to use agricultural plant materials, including switchgrass, and is in communication with a Maryland-based agriculture group seeking viable options to retain local farm land without growing food crops.
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May 17, 2008
American Energy Holdings and Investments Inc., a subsidiary of American Energy Enterprises Inc. in Brookfield, Conn., bought an abandoned brownfield site in New Milford, Conn., with intentions of building a cellulosic ethanol plant there. Construction of the $100 million facility, to be operated by AEE Distilleries Inc., is expected to begin on the 72-acre site this summer, according to AEE Chairman Christopher Brown. The 50 MMgy facility will use plant biomass and wood waste as a feedstock. AEE has also acquired two retail stations to dispense E85 from the Midwest until AEE's production comes on line in 2009 or early 2010, Brown said.
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March 25, 2008
Connecticut cellulosic developers hope to break ground this summer on a 24 MMgy to 50 MMgy waste wood cellulosic ethanol plant. American Energy Holdings and Investments Inc., a subsidiary of American Energy Enterprises Inc., based in Brookfield, Conn., has offered to buy the Century Enterprises/Brass Mill property from the city of New Milford, Conn., and turn into a cellulosic ethanol plant operated by AEE Distilleries Inc.
AEE Chairman Christopher Brown said the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Delta-T Corp. to supply the engineering, and is completing agreements with two biotechnology science companies. "We've been in meetings to unofficially start the permitting process," he added. "We have a pledge of $75 million from a green ethanol group." Brown declined to name the group, but added that it will mostly be an equity investment, with a financing instrument included. The pledge covers a large share of the estimated $110 million total cost. "We want to do this as a private business," Brown stressed, adding that the group wants to prove cellulosic ethanol's viability without relying on government grants. In 2005, Brown co-founded American Energy Enterprises, along with Nicholas M. Schmidt and Greg Chickneas.
AEE is building its process upon an old patent that was never used, Brown said. The process will use an acid pretreatment along with a microbial-enzymatic conversion process to make ethanol. Design plans including making the facility's energy self-sustaining with solar and wind power; as well, the lignin coproduct used to generate 5 megawatts to 7 megawatts of electricity will be sold into the grid.
The facility will be built on the Brownfield site of the abandoned Brass Mill near New Milford, Conn. Vacant for over two decades, the city is cleaning up industrial contamination at the site and in the building. AEE wants to break ground this summer on new construction as the remediation in the 300,000 square foot building is completed. The 72 acre site comes with grandfathered water rights from a nearby river, Brown said. Five spurs from the railroad which will connect the ethanol plant to both feedstocks and markets.
AEE is in the process of acquiring five filling stations to dispense E85 in the region, Brown said. Initially, the company will ship ethanol from the Midwest to build an E85 market, until AEE's production comes on line the end of 2009 or early 2010.
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