BOB MOEN Associated Press Writer - July 4, 2009
UPTON, Wyo. (AP) — In the tiny town of Upton, KL Energy Corp's test plant is among those at the forefront of a concerted research effort to turn trees, waste wood and other plants into automobile fuel.
The Rapid City, S.D.-based company is hoping to capitalize on doubts about corn ethanol and the federal government's embrace of biofuels as a way to create jobs, help replace imported oil and protect the environment.
The government has also touted wood biofuel as a way to create markets for small wood and low value trees on federal forest lands.
KL's process turns the wood into 200-proof liquid ethanol.
A company executive says it plans to build plants based on its Upton model near forests around the country.