Michigan milk-to-ethanol plant breaks ground

A Canada-based milk-to-alcohol provider has begun construction on a Michigan plant designed to produced 2.2mn USG/yr of ethanol using milk byproduct sourced from dairy farms.

Through a joint venture with the Michigan Milk Producers Association, Ontario-based Dairy Distillery will produce the biofuel using 14,000 metric tonnes/yr of milk permeate at the plant in Constantine, Michigan, which broke ground on 6 August.

The $41mn project was announced last year and is expected to begin ethanol production in early 2025. The plant received $2.5mn in funding from the state of Michigan.

Dairy Distillery uses milk permeate to produce vodka in Ontario, marketed at Vodkow. The Michigan plant will be its first to produce ethanol for fuel-use.

The company's new footprint in the US will allow it to take advantage of various federal tax credits for biofuels producers laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act.

By Payne Williams