ZeaChem breaks ground in Boardman

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With shovels, dignitaries and the promise of clean-energy jobs, ZeaChem Inc., a Colorado biofuels company, broke ground this week on a 250,000 gallon-per-year biorefinery.

The plant will initially use ZeaChem’s core technology, which has been validated by a number of third party vendors, to produce ethyl acetate, a marketable precursor to cellulosic ethanol. The company plans to add cellulosic ethanol production capability in 2011.

The company developed the technology using a $25 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant and has been pre-certified for a $10 million Business Energy Tax Credit in Oregon.

"ZeaChem’s biorefinery in Boardman is another example of our effort to attract green companies and advance the development of cellulosic ethanol as a viable renewable energy resource," said Gov. Ted Kulongoski in a press release.

Kulongoski and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., were on hand for the ceremony on Wednesday.

The Oregon Employment Department calculates that the construction and operation of ZeaChem’s Boardman biorefinery will create 292 direct and indirect jobs in Oregon, 167 of which will be located in Morrow County, where Boardman is located.

ZeaChem has a contract with GreenWood Resources, a Portland-based timberland investment manager, to obtain sustainable hybrid poplar tree feedstock from the nearby farms held under GreenWood Tree Farm Fund LP. Because the technology is feedstock agnostic, ZeaChem will also process trials of herbaceous crops, agricultural residuals and other renewable biomass resources.