Sep. 4--The Canadian firm that plans to build an ethanol plant in Niagara Falls has signed an agreement to buy 70 acres of land from Praxair to locate its planned facility.

Toronto-based Northern Ethanol did not disclose the price it will pay for the property, which it noted is "well served" by CSX Rail, St. Lawrence Seaway dockage, interstate highway connections and "abundant" low-cost water and other services. The land is located on 47th Street.

The company has had an option to buy the property for months, so the signed agreement marks progress. However, closing of the deal is still dependent on Northern Ethanol being approved for the brownfields tax credit program, as the property is contaminated.

"We hope to receive acceptance in the near future," said company spokeswoman Natalie Horrell. "That is the key milestone to be able to move forward on the project."

Northern Ethanol announced plans to construct a $245 million plant that would provide 500 construction jobs and ultimately employ more than 100 full-time workers. Two other facilities are planned for Ontario.

If completed, the Niagara Falls plant would produce 108 million gallons of ethanol a year using 37 million bushels of corn. The ethanol would then be blended with gasoline at locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and other parts of the Northeast.

"We'd like to purchase as much as possible of the corn from within a 100-mile radius if we possibly could," Horrell said.

The plant has already been approved for 9,000 kilowatts of low-cost hydro-electric power from the New York Power Authority. That's estimated to save the company about $35 million over the term of the contract.

However, the company applied for the brownfields tax credits a few months before the state Department of Environmental Conservation imposed a 90-day moratorium on new applications. The company is still waiting for a decision.

In the meantime, the company continues to receive support locally. "We're very excited to move in," Horrell said. "We've received a lot of great support from the community and surrounding businesses and from all levels of government. We're hoping to move forward as soon as we possibly can."

jepstein@buffnews.com

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