E. Ky. company hopes beets fuel ethanol project - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

E. Ky. company hopes beets fuel ethanol project

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CORBIN, Ky. (AP) -- A biofuel company in eastern Kentucky is hoping to build an ethanol plant that would use energy beets as fuel instead of corn.

The Times-Tribune reports that Patriot Bioenergy Corporation has more than 20 acres of energy beets growing in Whitley County and CEO Roger Ford says the company would use natural gas to spark the process to glean fuel from the produce. Ford likened it to a distillery getting alcohol from sugar.

Ethanol in the U.S. is usually corn-based, but Ford says the energy beet is a good substitute.

Ford said Patriot is eyeing is a 99-acre plot in Williamsburg for the plant.

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    Thanks to a grant from Norton Healthcare, this story and others are available in real-time closed captioning on WDRB.