Firm holds out hope for reopening of ethanol plant - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

Firm holds out hope for reopening of ethanol plant

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- The president of a company that ran Indiana's oldest ethanol plant until its bankruptcy hopes the liquidators who purchased the facility might reopen it.

The plant sold for $2.5 million. New Energy Corp. President Russ Abarr had hoped the auction price would cover the company's $54 million in debt.

Abarr tells the South Bend Tribune that the two liquidators who purchased the plant are talking with operators who could reopen it.

Purdue University professor Wallace Tyner a reopening is unlikely given the sales price. He says the $2.5 million figure signals the facility is likely to be scrapped.

The plant opened in 1984 and cost more than $180 million to build. It shut down in November after its owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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