TULSA, Okla., Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Two regional U.S. energy firms have announced a joint venture to build an 1,800-mile pipeline to send ethanol from the Midwest to the East Coast.
Magellan Midstream Partners and South Dakota ethanol producer POET said the pipeline, which would take four years to complete, would cover 1,800 miles, starting at ethanol production facilities in the Midwest and ending in Linden, N.J.
The project is likely to create more than 50,000 construction jobs and 1,100 permanent jobs once it's completed, the companies said in a joint statement issued Wednesday.
"This project has the clear environmental benefit of dramatically reducing carbon emissions from traditional ethanol transportation," said POET Chief Executive Officer Jeff Broin.
The companies said the $4 billion project depends on obtaining a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy.
"When we get the loan guarantee, we expect land acquisition and other steps to take about two years, and then construction about two more years," said Bruce Heine, director of government and media affairs for Magellan, The Indianapolis Star reported Thursday.
