From Poplar To Ethanol: Plant Could Help Save Northwest's Biofuels Industry
The poplar trees here grow 10 feet a year, transforming an irrigated stretch of desert near the Columbia River into a neatly pruned forest. For now, the trees provide lumber for cabinets and pulp for paper.
But in the years ahead, energy entrepreneurs hope the pulp from poplar can be turned into ethanol, helping resuscitate the Northwest's floundering biofuels industry.
One of the first investments in this region will be near Boardman, where construction is scheduled to begin later this year on a demonstration plant that will produce about 1.2 million gallons a year of ethanol from poplar.
"We've raised $34 million and that's enough to move us forward," said Jim Imbler, chief executive officer of ZeaChem, the Colorado-based company that is building the plant.
>> back to top