Ethanol Plant Shuts Down

AP 8-31,2015

The only ethanol plant in Wyoming will shut down because it can’t compete with lower gasoline prices.

The Wyoming Ethanol plant is located in Torrington, and the shutdown is expected to affect about 20 workers.

Terry Oldfield is chief executive officer for Renova Energy, which is the parent company of Wyoming Ethanol.

Oldfield tells the Torrington Telegram (http://bit.ly/1PW0TCv) that the plant will be going into an “indefinite suspension of operations” by the end of this coming week.

Wyoming has subsidized ethanol production since 1995, but the Wyoming Legislature decided to end the tax credit this year.

However, Oldfield says the plant could have survived the tax credit loss if oil prices hadn’t dropped so much recently.

But Oldfield said the company is holding out hope that the plant can reopen.