Xethanol Secures $1.6 Million
– Plans to Increase Ethanol Production 60 Percent
Xethanol Corporation (OTCBB:XTHN), a company that is focused on
the conversion of biomass to biofuels from landfills, has closed $1.6 million in the form a senior secured royalty income
note financing for its Xethanol BioFuels facility in Blairstown, Iowa. That facility currently has a production capacity of
6 million gallons of ethanol per year. With planned expansions, the facility is expected to increase the production at the
facility 60 percent in 2006.
Christopher d'Arnaud-Taylor, Xethanol's CEO named some of the financiers
as well as commented on the company’s cash flow position, "This represents a true vote of confidence on the part of
our lending partners, Lucas Energy Total Return Master Fund and Lucas Energy Total Return Partners, in both the company and
the Blairstown facility. Prior to the plant's opening, the company decided that investment in the future expansion would reduce
downtime as the plant is slated for a major expansion in early 2006 when we introduce our extractive fermentation process
and other technologies. The capital invested by the company, which was recouped in expanding the plant financing from $5 million
to $6.6 million, should be sufficient to take Xethanol through positive cash flow which is estimated to occur by the end of
the calendar year, although no assurances can be made given the dynamics of the ethanol market."
Xethanol’s business strategy is to produce ethanol at a lower
cost than corn-based ethanol products with plants located closer to the coasts. The company besides its Blairstown, Iowa facility
also owns an ethanol production facility at its Biomass Technology Center in Hopkinton, Iowa.
