Hereford Biofuels ethanol plant to be �mothballed'

Posted June 10, 2009, at 10:18 a.m. CST

Competitive Power Ventures Holdings LLC, a North American power industry development and asset management company headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., announced it has been retained by Ethanol Acquisition LLC, a group of lenders led by French financial services giant Soci�t� G�n�rale Group, to manage the former 115 MMgy Hereford Biofuels LP ethanol plant in Hereford, Texas, which Ethanol Acquisition acquired in April from Panda Ethanol Inc. for a $25 million credit bid in bankruptcy court.

CVP said it will assist Ethanol Acquisition with closing the deal to acquire the plant and will oversee transitioning the plant to "mothball" status and with liquidating physical commodity positions.

"Our objective is to properly maintain and preserve the facility in anticipation of a future startup or eventual sale," said Dave Magill, senior vice president of asset management for CPV. "Obviously, operating margins are currently tight, but we believe that the Hereford plant has unique technological and geographical advantages that will make the plant a valuable asset within the biofuel industry."

The Hereford Biofuels plant was destined to be a unique operation in the self-proclaimed "Beef Capital of the World" of Hereford, fueled by cow manure from nearby feedlots and supplying wet distillers grains with solubles to the cattle there. According to the Deaf Smith County Chamber of Commerce in Hereford, there are approximately 1.5 million fed cattle within a 30-mile radius of Hereford.

SOURCE: ETHANOL PRODUCER MAGAZINE