Ethanol plant eyes tri-county, county officals skeptical

A number of ethanol companies have been coming to Charleston proposing plants; more than a dozen have “kicked the tires” in Berkeley County in the last year, said Al Kennedy, project manager for Berkeley County Economic Development.

The newest prospect in the Lowcountry is International Bio Energy Virginia LLC.

“They’ve told us (they are looking at Charleston),” said Warren Harris, economic development director for Chesapeake, Va. Harris and his colleagues in Chesapeake have worked feverishly to land the plant in their region. “I’m trying for them not to go to Charleston.”

International Bio Energy is a Switzerland-based corporation with its U.S. headquarters in Virginia. Currently, the corporation is working on three separate sites to launch ethanol plants; one of which in the United States. The other two will be located in Hungary and Germany. Eventually, the company plans to have seven ethanol locations.

International Bio Energy is working with undisclosed Charleston regional authorities to determine if the plant will come to the Lowcountry, said Rick Starnes, senior program manager for the development of the three ethanol plants for the company. If Charleston loses to Chesapeake, the region may end up as a secondary location.

“Charleston is a very strategic location,” Starnes said. “(Chesapeake and Charleston) are two ideal candidates for having two plants.”

The company is looking at a 100-acre site to build a $500 million ethanol plant and would bring 150 jobs to the region, Starnes said. He would not divulge the county or nearby town where the site will be located.

Local officials remain skeptical.

“I don’t know (if it is true),” Kennedy said of International Bio Energy possibly looking at Berkeley County. “And I don’t know if I could tell you if I did. We get ethanol projects rolling in and rolling out. A lot of them come in looking and put queries out and we just never hear from them again. I guess you’d call it tire-kicking.”

Dorchester County Economic Development Director Jim Friar was equally unconvinced. Rumors are rampant all the time about ethanol plants coming to Dorchester, Friar said in a message sent through his secretary.

But it seems International Bio Energy is doing more than kicking the tires.

“We are seriously coming,” Starnes said. “We’re working on permitting and were investigating opportunities in Charleston.”

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal - Lindsay Street, Staff Writer