A Brilliant CEO Over $20 million for $250

This company called American process claimed to have great technology and got tax payer money back in 2010 and 2011  to build a bio refinery to make ethanol and acetate out of wood chips in Alpena Michigan.  For the year 2012 the US DOE and EPA were counting on this Bio Refinery to produce 500,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol.   Of course the company did not produce any cellulosic ethanol in 2012.  Nor did it in 2013.   They announced they produced their third ever truck load of ethanol in July 2014.

They announced their second ever truckload in mid April 2014.  Therefore it took them two and a half months to produce 5,000 gallons.   Perhaps if a year has 250 months they will reach the targeted production the US EPA and DOE had for them back in 2012. 

Here are the links that show I am not making up this stuff

http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/IER-Comment-on-2014-RFS.pdf

News

July 1st, 2014Our success story is going on!

On July 1st , our Alpena biorefinery team shipped our third ethanol cargo of 5000 gal. in total. Half of this quantity was qualified as cellulosic ethanol RINs.

http://www.alpenabiorefinery.com/news.html

How in heavens name did a company like American Process get the US DOE and EPA as well as Michigan to believe they would succeed?

Theodora Retsina the CEO of American Process did give a little of the money back to the Obama campaign in 2012.  Yes $250 to his campaign in thanks for the over $20 million of public funds taken for the Alpena Boondoggle.

http://www.primarypost.com/fec/2012/3379973/-Theodora-Retsina/750-Piedmont-Ave-Ne-Atlanta-GA-30308

This highlights the story of bio fools.   The CEO is brilliant.  Four years of high pay.   No cellulosic ethanol.  And a $250 tax deductible donation to President Obama for his 2012 campaign. 

http://www.americanprocess.com/ExecutiveTeam.aspx

OK 5,000 gallons every 10 weeks is approximately 25,000 gallons a year.  Let's assume the plant runs ten years before they give up.  This means 250,000 gallons for $25 million of CAPEX.  Ignoring the OPEX and the time value of money (big ignorance) Theodora cost us $500 a gallon of ethanol.   I can buy Johnnie Walker Black at Costco for less.  I guess Retsina is a fine brand of Vodka that has been quintuple distilled???