Aug. 25--A Houston company announced Monday it has begun work on a new ethanol transport hub with facilities in Rialto and Colton, the latest of several energy-focused projects under way in the same area of San Bernardino County.

Officials of U.S. Development Group LLC, involved nationwide in the handling and distribution of ethanol, said construction has started on the first phase in Rialto, consisting of a pipeline transfer system that will begin receiving and off-loading fuel from railcars this fall.

A second phase, currently in the permit process, includes full storage and access by train cars that will be built on an adjacent property in neighboring Colton, to be completed by mid-2010, said U.S. Development Group Vice President Larry Padfield by e-mail. He said the facilities will likely employ around 20 during construction, and maintain about 15 full-time jobs when fully operating.

Company leaders said the facilities are needed to help meet new California requirements calling for vehicles to run on a 10 percent blend of ethanol starting in 2010. The company's "West Colton Rail Terminal" will be served by the Union Pacific Railroad and will be located less than a mile from gasoline blending terminals that already serve the Inland region.

"Availability of infrastructure is the key factor in locating a new project," Padfield said. "In this case, we're near very good rail infrastructure and adjacent to the gasoline blending terminals."

The new hub will supply all ethanol requirements for the Inland region under the new state laws. The company said it will include dedicated ethanol storage, and high-speed off-loading capabilities for railcars and trucks.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel, made from grain and corn, blended into gasoline consumed in regional markets. U.S. Development said the new Colton terminal will be a key element of the ethanol pipeline, to process rising railcar shipments from Midwest ethanol production plants. The company also runs large ethanol rail logistics centers in New Jersey, Maryland and Texas.

The planned ethanol facilities are located just north of the site where Los Angeles-headquartered Rentech Inc. plans to build a Rialto plant that will turn green waste such as yard clippings into clean-burning synthetic fuels. The Rentech facility is in the design phase and is expected to create about 250 jobs, including 55 permanent ones when it is fully operating in 2012.

The Rentech plant is in the same area of Rialto where Atlanta-based Enertech Environmental has been ramping up production this year at a $90 million plant that converts sewer sludge into a usable, coal-like fuel. The plant has attracted the interest of sanitation officials from Japan, the United Kingdom and Abu Dhabi.

Daniel Casey, an assistant planner with the city of Rialto, said Monday the availability of established infrastructure, including access to railroads and freeways, are likely big factors bringing the energy-focused companies to the city.

"There does seem to be a good amount of green-energy projects around there," Casey said.

Reach Lou Hirsh at 951-368-9559 or lhirsh@PE.com.

-----

To see more of The Press-Enterprise or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pe.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

AMEX:RTK,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.