Construction is slated to begin later this month in Stuttgart, Ark., on an $80 million plant that will use rice hulls and rice straws to produce ethanol, the Associated Press reported.

The Colusa Biomass Inc. facility is projected to produce 12.5 million gallons of fuel ethanol annually, in addition to 152,000 tons of silica/sodium oxide, which is used in the electronics industry and to make solar panels. Colusa CEO Tom Bowers told AP it will be the first rice-to-energy plant in the world.

A scaled-down version of the plant will be built over the next four months, with construction on the full-size plant scheduled to begin in December. The plant should be operating at full capacity by late 2009.

By Ann Bagel Storck for Meatingplace.com on 8/11/2008