Silver_Bullet
Guest
I have a plant 10 miles from me that is under construction due to open in about a year. I think with the run up in corn price this past fall investors saw how vulnerable these plants are to the swings in corn price. In Nebraska, as well as other states, there has just been a frenzy to get on board to have a plant irregardless in some cases of logistics to securing grain and having adequate supply and rail service. I think in the long run some of the plants located in less than ideal locations will fail when margins decline due to competition with other plants and other technology such as cellulosic. When they fail, I believe they will be bought out for a fraction of what they originally cost and then be able to operate since their overhead and debt will be millions less. The worst that could happen for the ethanol industry as a whole right now would be to have corn go to $5.00 or more and stay there for 6 months. I think that could shut the ethanol industry down and stop any future developement. If we could stay where we're at today or a little lower the industry could continue to steadily grow.