Osage Bio Energy LLC, the company that plans to build an ethanol plant in Hopewell, announced yesterday that an equity firm has committed $300 million to finance construction of four ethanol plants.

Craig Shealy, president and CEO of Osage, said the pledge from First Reserve Corp. gives the Virginia-based biocompany a good push in its quest to open the first major ethanol production facility in Virginia.

"We are very excited," Shealy said about the partnership with the Houston-based equity firm that specializes in investments in the energy industry.

First Reserve has been in the business for 25 years, and Shealy said its investment validates Osage's commitment to the ethanol business in the Richmond area and in the state.

"We have a tremendous opportunity to built the first major ethanol plant in Virginia," Shealy said.

Osage Bio Energy is in the process of acquiring state and local permits for a 54-acre parcel near downtown Hopewell, where it plans to build a 55-million-gallon plant.

Osage Bio Energy is also in the process of acquiring a site for another plant just outside of Chase City in Mecklenburg County.

The company also is looking at other sites in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee, Shealy said.

Osage plans to produce the alternative fuel mostly from Virginia-grown barley, Shealy said, adding that the company is committed to building and operating "environmentally responsible" refineries.

"The competitive pricing position derived from using a barley-fed plant combined with the lack of ethanol supply to the Southeast, makes Osage Bio Energy an attractive investment for us," Glenn Payne, director of First Reserve, said in a statement.

Osage Bio Energy, which started in January 2007 and has its headquarters in Glen Allen, is a sister company of Osage Inc., which has been in the ethanol distribution business for more than 20 years.
Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or llazo@timesdispatch.com.