The Mount Pleasant Morning Sun reports on money troubles at a corn ethanol plant under construction near Ithaca, Mich. The company building the plant was hoping to attract sufficient investors in Michigan, but it’s now heading out of state for money. That’s like the plant in our area near Riga. It’s now owned by an Australian firm.

Four 800,000 gallon stainless steel fermenter tanks are near completion. An administration building is almost fully enclosed. Some 6,000 yards of concrete are poured for the foundation and flooring for the fermenter tanks and process buildings.

Construction will continue through December and resume only when financing is closed.

“It’s just slowing down, not shutting down,” Everett said, adding that work would have probably discontinued during winter anyway.

Everett countered the rumor the ethanol project in Ithaca is a lost venture.

“This project remains extremely strong,” he said. “It will not be mothballed.”

The Wall Street Journal wrote about the cooling of the ethanol craze last November:

Little over a year ago, ethanol was winning the hearts and wallets of both Main Street and Wall Street, with promises of greater U.S. energy independence, fewer greenhouse gases and help for the farm economy. Today, the corn-based biofuel is under siege.

In the span of one growing season, ethanol has gone from panacea to pariah in the eyes of some. The critics, which include industries hurt when the price of corn rises, blame ethanol for pushing up food prices, question its environmental bona fides and dispute how much it really helps reduce the need for oil.