Biditup Auctions and Appraisals Worldwide Inc. and Maynards, the new owners of the former New Energy Corp. ethanol plant, are accepting sealed bids for the South Bend, Ind., facility through July 15. “Our intent is to try to find a buyer to continue to operate that plant and we’re going to give it full and ample to time to try to see if that can come to fruition,” said Biditup CEO Steven Mattes.

The 100 MMgy plant, which first began producing in late 1984, has been idled since early November. The company filed for bankruptcy Nov. 9. As was reported previously, Biditup and Maynards successfully bid $2.5 million for the facility at bankruptcy auction Jan. 31, court documents show.

Mattes told Ethanol Producer Magazine it would be terrific if the new buyer would restart the facility. That would bring back jobs, a benefit to the city and the state overall. Currently, there is a small number of staff working at the plant, he said.

The ethanol plant is described online at the websites of Biditup and Maynards as a complete turn-key ready ethanol plant on 70 acres. The original cost of the facility was more than $180 million with major multi-million upgrades as recently as 2007. Besides ethanol and distillers grains, the facility produces 182,000 tons yearly of CO2, with about $2 million in net yearly income from a contract with a major CO2 supplier. All permits have been maintained and are currently active.