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21 August 2006 -- The Associated Press (AP), along with several newspapers and Web sites, reports that NRG Energy is considering making ethanol. If the independent power producer follows through, it would be one of the first power companies to invest in ethanol.
The Dow Jones Newswires reports that Bob Henry, NRG senior vice president of operations, said NRG is considering building an ethanol plant that would use steam from an existing power plant or from a new coal-fired boiler.
"We are chasing a lot of different permutations on the theme of ethanol," Henry told the wire service.
NRG owns coal-burning power plants in Texas, New York and various locations in the Northeast, and plans to build new plants to boost its coal-fired generation capacity 46 percent over the next decade.
NRG's experience with handling coal and providing steam for third-party customers through its NRG Thermal subsidiary convinced executives that ethanol could be a viable investment, Henry told Dow Jones Newswires.
"An ethanol refinery is an excellent steam host," Henry said. "You might as well take the upside of the ethanol business as well."
Henry declined to tell the Dow Jones Newswires when the company might decide on one or more ethanol projects.
NRG's decision whether to manufacture ethanol will rest on how much flexibility one or more of its coal plants would have to produce ethanol, generate electricity or do both at the same time, Henry said.
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