renewaFUEL, LLC, a subsidiary of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF), announced that Cliffs' Board of Directors has approved a plan for the construction and operation of a next-generation biomass fuel production facility at the Telkite Technology Park, which is located at Sawyer Airport near Marquette, Mich.
renewaFUEL intends to move forward with a lease agreement for the use of two large aircraft hangars, which formerly housed B-52 aircraft when the facility was part of K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. renewaFUEL's lease of the hangars is subject to the final approval of the Marquette County Board of Commissioners and the Federal Aviation Administration. Once begun, construction and renovation at the facility, a $19 million capital project, is expected to take approximately nine months.
The plant is expected to employ approximately 25 people and will produce 150,000 tons per year of high-energy, low-emission biofuel cubes. The cubes are a composite of sustainably collected wood and agricultural feedstocks, which will be supplied from local farmers and loggers for the facility.
The company anticipates being in production at the Sawyer facility by the middle of 2010.
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