Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. received the unanimous support of the Schroeppel, N.Y. town board for the development of a large scale integrated beef cattle closed-loop project that includes finishing facilities for 72,000 head of beef cattle, ethanol production and a beef processing plant, according to PR Newswire.

The town board passed a resolution Dec. 10 to support the project.

Company studies during the past several years found that the New York location had a number of positive characteristics, including strong community support, a major port that can handle bulk corn imports and beef and ethanol export shipments, existing rail lines that link the port with potential project sites and a regional agricultural infrastructure.

(PR Newswire, Dec. 14, 2009)

(http://www.prnewswire.com/…)

DTN: Bion is not the first company to develop a closed-loop ethanol production plant. E3 Biofuels in Mead, Neb. completed construction on a similar plant a couple of years ago. That plant touted its ability to be virtually self-sufficient from fossil fuel use to produce ethanol, by operating next to a feedlot. The plant used methane from the cattle to run the ethanol plant, as opposed to the typical corn-based ethanol plant that relies on natural gas. Unfortunately the plant was forced into bankruptcy as a result of mechanical failures, and it never restarted production. (Todd Neeley)