Ohio Valley University, of Vienna, W.Va., said last week that it would by late 2018 open a commercial-scale facility that each day could use 600 tons of coal as the central feedstock for producing mixed alcohols such as ethanol and methanol, along with other “energy-related byproducts.”
The Alternative Clean Energy (ACE) facility would use a number of current technologies to demonstrate that it is possible to produce clean energy from coal in a commercially viable and economically efficient manner, according to a press release from the Christian liberal arts college. The university expects output of as much as 3,000 barrels a day of liquid from the plant, which is also expected to create roughly 60 new jobs in the Parkersburg/Vienna region and serve as a training center for students from the school.
“We are excited to publicly announce ACE, a new for-profit venture that will also serve as a research and development center for OVU students,” Jeff Dimick, university executive vice president and president of OVU-ACE LLC, said in the release. “The project will create an alternative revenue source for Ohio Valley University to assist in funding strategic initiatives, provide internships and increase endowments for various scholarships and facilities enhancements.”
The university is studying several potential locations for the plant. The release did not discuss the facility’s anticipated cost.
