Green Plains Renewable Energy has begun grinding corn to turn in to ethanol at its new plant in Ord, Nebraska. The plant, which Green Plains Renewable Energy acquired earlier this month, should be producing its fist batch of ethanol tomorrow, July 16th.

In a company press release, Green Plains CEO Todd Becker commented on the milestone:

The startup of the Ord plant within eight days of completing the purchase is a testament to our operational experience and our considerable understanding of the plant technology,” said Todd Becker, Green Plains’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Ord plant has been idle since November 2008, but based on our expertise, we developed and executed a comprehensive plan that allowed us to quickly achieve this milestone. We are glad to bring this plant back online producing ethanol.”

“With improving margins in our industry, we were anxious to start production at the Ord and Central City plants as soon as possible. We plan to also have the plant in Central City, Nebraska operating later this month,” Becker added.

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