$160 million plant for ethanol production planned for Shelbyville

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (AP/WISH) — A Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based ethanol producer will build a $160 million production plant in Shelbyville. 

Poet said in a news release that 45 full-time jobs and 275 temporary construction jobs would be created at the facility southeast of Indianapolis. The plant is expected to start operations in 2020 and produce 80 million gallons of ethanol each year. 

The plant will be on Shelby County Road 300 North just north of Shelbyville and south of I-74. 

Shelby County Development Corp. Executive Director Brian Asher said the facility will boost income for farmers, expand the tax base and circulates new dollars across Indiana’s economy. 

Asher says local farmers will benefit by not having to haul their corn long distances to receive top prices. 

Matt Merritt, public relations director with Poet, said the Shelbyville plant will be the first built by the company since 2008, when it opened a plant in Alexandria, Indiana. The Shelbyville plant will be similar to the one built in Alexandria at a cost of $80 million, Merritt said.