Q: Did that bankrupt ethanol plant in Hoke County ever even make a gallon of the stuff? Who put money into that company? - W.M., Fayetteville
A: Clean Burn Fuels did make some ethanol - but not nearly as much as had been hoped.
The $100 million project, which was supposed to produce 60 million gallons of the fuel a year and to employ about 100 people, never seemed to get up to full speed. First proposed in 2005, it finally started operating in the spring of 2010. In early March of this year, it closed - temporarily, plant officials initially said - because of hikes in the price of corn, the raw material for ethanol. Corn was selling for more than the fuel. Then, in early April, Clean Burn filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors and the company ended up remaining closed for good.
About 40 people worked at the plant when it closed.
Some of the money for the project came from taxpayers. For example, Hoke County spent $3.9 million to buy a site for an industrial park and gave Clean Burn 500 acres there and $1.5 million was spent to extend utilities to the site.
A syndicate of 15 banks provided $66 million in loans to Clean Burn, according to a report in the Triangle Business Journal, and the project had a $35 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The lead bank lender, Cape Fear Farm Credit in Dunn, foreclosed on the loans and the property was auctioned in August. Cape Fear Farm Credit was the highest - and only - bidder, with a bid of $34.5 million.
Meanwhile, dozens of private investors from North Carolina and elsewhere poured about $40 million into the project. They include some CEOs - one is a co-leader of a global private equity firm in New York and Jim Goodmon is president and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting Co. in Raleigh - as well as doctors, lawyers, an orthodontist, home builders and people in more modest circumstances.
The individual investors won't recoup any of their money from whatever's squeezed out of the property, a Cape Fear Farm Credit official told TBJ in September.
Q: How can I reach the state agency that inspects gas station pumps? - B.B., Fayetteville
A: You can reach the Measurement Section of the Standards Division of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by calling 919-733-3313. It inspects weighing and measuring devices, such as gas pumps, for accuracy and inspects packaged goods to make sure they contain the stated net contents.
Live Wire seeks to answer questions of general interest and consumer topics within two weeks. Initials are used to identify questioners when names are given. Contact Live Wire at livewire@fayobserver.com, blogs.fayobserver.com/livewire or 486-3516.
Source www.fayobserver.com/
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