Owensboro Grain Co. is exploring the possibility of using natural gas-fired turbines to generate its own electricity for a soybean plant. CEO Jeff Erb called the idea "pie in the sky" for now, but the company's board has approved looking into the co-generation option.
Erb told the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer the co-generation operation not only would provide electricity to power the company's soybean plant, but also would allow use of the residual heat to heat the plant's water.
The company now uses coal-fired boilers for its power.
The co-generation would be for the soybean plant only. The refinery at Owensboro Grain's biodiesel plant runs on natural gas.
Erb says the company still needs to find out if Owensboro Municipal Utilities can provide backup power.
