By Staff reports

A Columbia-based ethanol company might ship its product through the Port of Charleston as demand rises for alternative fuels, a company official said.

East Coast Ethanol LLC plans to raise $845 million to build four ethanol plants in the Southeast, including one in Chester County that could bring 45 jobs and millions of dollars in investment to the state.

“The economic impact is in the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Steve Elliott, a consultant serving as the company’s director of finance. “If we get it done, it’s going to be quite an addition to the South Carolina economic base.”

The company filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June that, if approved, would allow investors to buy into the company and could raise as much as $591 million.

In the company’s proposal, it cited the Chester County site’s proximity to the Port of Charleston and the four fuel terminals within trucking distance of the new plant. Elliott said if the demand and price for ethanol keep rising, the company would explore exports.

South Carolina State Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller said that no ethanol is shipped through the port at this time but that a company probably would go through a private terminal such as the petrochemical sites along the Cooper River.

“I would expect that these would be bulk shipments and not small volumes, and that would be more of a private terminal scenario,” he said.

SUBSCRIBE | REPRINTS | CONTACT US

Phone: 843-849-3100    Fax: 843-849-3122