Officials with Elite Octane, LLC (“Elite Octane”) said Thursday afternoon, that the company has found a path forward with the proposed ethanol project near Atlantic. Nick Bowdish, with Elite Octane said while progress of the project had stalled over matters related to the electricity supply, he was “Pleased that [their] investor group found a way to make this project viable.” Bowdish says “Elite Octane intends to close on its financing quickly and commence construction.”

The Company is in final stages of due diligence and anticipates it could begin construction in February 2017 on an ethanol plant near Atlantic, that will consume over 40 million bushels of locally grown corn and produce approximately 120 million gallons of ethanol and 300,000 tons of distiller’s grains per year.

The plant will occupy 102 acres northwest of Atlantic, about two miles outside the city limits, and is expected to bring at least 49 jobs to the area. Elite Octane will spend about $196 million on the project. The site will be one of 21 plants that produces at least 100 million gallons per year in the state, while 20 produce below that amount, according to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.