MANISTEE ? The Manistee County Commission will hold a public hearing on Aug. 9 on whether to grant a special use permit to build a 50-million gallon Ethanol plant on the abadoned Manistee Drop Forge property, the first Ethanol facility that could be built in Northern Michigan.
The project has been proposed by North Star Ethanol LLC in a state Renaissance Zone in Filer Township, said Manistee County Commissioner Allan O?Shea. If approved, it could create from 30 to 50 new jobs in the rural Michigan community.
?We have a public hearing on Aug. 9 and another on Aug. 15,? O?Shea said ?Then right after that the planning commission will vote on special use application. My opinion is there are not a lot of pressing questions that have not been addressed and there?s an 80-20 chance the commission will approve the permit. This will be a big project for Manistee, where we already have a deep water port.?
O?Shea said the proposed site for the Ethanol plant adjoins the TES Filer Power Plant that burns waste material and coal, which means the proposed Ethanol plant would not have to build its own power plant.
?It provides great synergy for this project,? he said.
Manistee County is becoming a hot bed for alternative energy projects. In June, Manistee held Michigan?s first statewide Renewable Energy Fair. It attracted 35 speakers, more than 70 attendees and 3,000 guests. Up for discussion were BioDiesel, Ethanol, Solar and Wind energy.
