Touting the benefits of biofuel in Montana

The Montana Ethanol Project is prepared to build a $265 million plant northeast of Great Falls that would be a market for 12 million bushels of wheat and another 34 million bushels of barley — at least that’s what the company announced almost 20 years ago.

For decades, the biofuel industry has been on the verge of exploding in Montana.

It seems to be a perfect fit for the state. The country needs environmentally friendly, locally produced fuel, and Montana’s small towns need to develop industries that add value to what area farmers are already producing.

But despite numerous planned plants, the only company producing biofuel in the state is Earl Fisher Biofuels http://www.earlfisherbiofuels.com/ , run by two farmers in Chester.

"Heaven knows, we need economic development in rural areas like where I live," said Shirley Ball, executive director of Ethanol Producers and Consumers, which is based in Nashua. "It’s good for our nation. We can take raw materials and turn it into energy that we now import from countries that don’t like us."

Story and photos by KIM SKORNOGOSKI Tribune Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20090412/BUSINESS/904120304