State puts $15 million into renewable energy By Susan Salisbury Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Friday, February 23, 2007 TALLAHASSEE — Florida's renewable energy industry, from ethanol production to solar power, received a huge boost Thursday with the awarding of eight state grants totaling $15 million. Several South Florida companies were among the recipients. "This is a major step in Florida's effort to establish a meaningful renewable-energy industry," said Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson. Three of the grants - at $2.5 million each - were given to companies planning to produce fuel ethanol from citrus peel, sugar cane, corn and other feedstocks. Florida does not have any fuel ethanol plants in operation. Boca Raton-based Citrus Energy LLC plans to construct a biorefinery next to Southern Gardens Citrus outside Clewiston. Citrus Energy President David Stewart said Thursday citrus peel, pulp, seeds and membranes would be converted into 4 million gallons of ethanol a year. Production is projected to start by 2008. "It is an agricultural residue that is really a nuisance, and we will turn it into ethanol," Stewart said. Losonoco Inc. of Fort Lauderdale will use its grant toward a $14 million project to purchase, refurbish and operate a shuttered fuel ethanol plant in the Polk County town of Bartow, company Chief Executive Officer Alan Banks said. The plant will initially use corn as a feedstock. "We believe we will be the first people to produce ethanol for transport use in Florida," said Banks, who called the grant "very helpful." "We hope to have it in operation by first quarter 2008." Joe Ahrens, executive director of agriculture enterprise development at LaBelle-based Alico Inc. (Nasdaq: ALCO, $50.42), said the company plans to use its grant to build a 7.5 millon-gallon-a-year plant to produce ethanol and electricity. The Alico plant would be built in Hendry County and use high-fiber sugar cane and agricultural wastes such as hurricane debris to make ethanol, Ahrens said. A $1 million grant was jointly received by West Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals and Florida International University in Miami for ethanol research. Matched with another $1 million from Florida Crystals, the program will seek a cost-effective pretreatment process to produce ethanol from sugarcane waste. "Potentially we can produce sugar from sugar cane, produce ethanol from bagasse and still have material to send to the power plant next door," Florida Crystals spokesman Gaston Cantens said. The grants were created as part of the Florida Energy Act of 2006.