Assuming it obtains an air pollution permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality as expected today, Osage Bio Energy LLC will start construction of a $150 million ethanol plant in Hopewell in October, COO Joel Stone has told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The proposed facility, to be built on a 55-acre tract in Hopewell, will have a capacity of 68.2 million gallons of ethanol per year. Scheduled to open in May 2010, the plant would provide 45 to 55 full-time jobs and an estimated $2.2 million in tax revenue to the City of Hopewell.

While some citizens welcome the jobs, the proposal to build the ethanol plant stirred up considerable local opposition. But two lawsuits have been dismissed and the last potential obstacle, the granting of the air pollution permits, is only a formality. The DEQ has already determined that "the proposed ethanol facility in Hopewell would not cause or significantly contribute to a predicted violation of the applicable" National Ambient Air Quality Standards, reports Luz Lazo.

Said Stone: "We are excited and ready to go."