Maple Energy starts up ethanol facility

Energy company Maple Energy has opened its ethanol plant in Peru, although its electric power generation facilities are not yet open.

The company is harvesting and processing sugarcane, which it will turn into ethanol in its new facility.

Throughout this year, the amount of sugarcane that will be harvested and processed in the plant will grow during the second quarter.

The power operations are planned to come into force by the middle of this year.

The first production batch of ethanol will be sold on the local market and also stored to be exported at a later date.

The ethanol is to be stored near the port of Paita, in storage that is being built by Penta Tanks Terminals as the facility will have storage, loading and shipping capabilities.

The port project is scheduled to come online in the second quarter of 2012.

Rex Canon, CEO of Maple Energy, commenting on the opening of the ethanol plant, says: ‘This event marks a key milestone for the company in its initiative to develop one of the largest ethanol projects in Peru with the goal of being a low cost, globally competitive ethanol producer.’