$400 million ethanol plant to be built at Mount Vernon port

The largest project ever constructed at Indiana's ports will be built at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon in the form of a $400 million, 220 million gallon ethanol plant. Governor Mitch Daniels recently unveiled the state's new strategic energy plan and announced plans for the 116-acre port project, which will be developed as a partnership between Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. and Consolidated Grain and Barge Co.

The facility's total cost is more than four times the total amount spent by the state of Indiana to construct its three ports on the Ohio River and Lake Michigan. The Ports of Indiana is a quasi-state, self-funded enterprise that operates a system of three ports in Mount Vernon, Jeffersonville and Burns Harbor, as well as statewide financing, foreign-trade zone and intermodal transportation programs.