MOUNT VERNON, Indiana (August 11, 2006) - The state's latest ethanol plant - which will also be the largest - will be built on 116 acres at the Port of Indiana in Mount Vernon. Governor Mitch Daniels joined officials from Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc., Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., and the Ports of Indiana today to announce the companies will build a 220 million gallon facility.

Aventine, headquartered in Pekin, Illinois, and CGB Enterprises, Inc., the parent company of Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. (CGB), located in Mandeville, Louisiana, have formed a partnership to construct the facility. The companies will lease the land from Ports of Indiana. CGB already has grain facilities at the port.

"A critical success factor for our economic comeback plan is the production of more energy right here in Indiana. Clean coal, corn, soybeans and wind power can all be sources of jobs directly and indirectly by giving us an energy edge over other states," said Daniels.

The $400 million Aventine and CGB plant will eventually produce 220 million gallons of ethanol annually - twice the production of the largest facility previously announced -- use 80 million bushels of corn from area farmers and employ about 70 people. Construction is expected to begin in April 2007 with Phase I production of 110 million gallons of ethanol by September 2008 and full production by January 2010.

"The proposed project for an ethanol plant at Mt. Vernon between our subsidiary, Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., and Aventine will help farmers in Indiana, and adjoining states, by increasing their marketing alternatives for corn, and the value for such. The proposed ethanol facility will also bring additional jobs and increased business volume to the Mt. Vernon area, and will be a very positive contribution to the area's economy," said Kevin Adams, president and CEO of CGB Enterprises.

Because of the strategic port location and integrated logistics connections, the facility can ship and receive corn, ethanol and related products by barge, truck and rail.

In the past 18 months, Indiana has announced 12 new ethanol plants (1.16 billion gallons annually) and three new biodiesel plants (90 million gallons annually). The plants are expected to create nearly 675 new jobs for Hoosiers and bring about nearly $1.77 billion in capital investment.

The CGB and Aventine project will be the largest facility ever built at the state's three ports. There are 745 acres of land at the Mount Vernon port. Once the new ethanol plant is built, just more than 150 acres of available industrial sites will remain.

"Governor Daniels has put Indiana at the forefront in the development of renewable fuels, and we are pleased to contribute to this initiative," said Rich Cooper, executive director for the Ports of Indiana. "This project is testimony to the strong, long-term business relationship between CGB and the Ports of Indiana. This relationship has brought Aventine to our port and spawned what is shaping up to be the largest project in the history of our three ports. As we work to grow our ports, we are not only looking to attract new industry, but we are also continuing to work with our existing tenants to develop opportunities that will grow their businesses."

In the newly formed partnership between CGB and Aventine, CGB's role will be to purchase corn from local farmers and market the dried distillers grain produced in ethanol-making to companies in Europe, Japan, Asia and the U.S. for use in animal feeds. CGB has a 10-million bushel elevator system in the Mount Vernon area which includes more than four million bushels at the port.

Aventine will run the processing facility and market the ethanol to many of the leading energy companies in North America, including BP Products North America, ConocoPhillips Co., Chevron Texaco Products Co., Shell Oil Products U.S., and Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC.

The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, previously known as Southwind Maritime Center, opened in 1976 and will have 10 tenant companies with arrival of Aventine. CGB has been a port tenant since 1986. Consolidated Terminals & Logistics Co., a sister company to CGB, was the last company to join the port in 2004 when it entered into a public-private partnership with the Ports of Indiana to operate the port's crane terminal for handling steel and general cargo. CGB also operates a grain elevator at the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville.

Additional media contact: Ports of Indiana, Jody Peacock, 317/435-1532, jpeacock@portsofindiana.com