CHENOA - Citing high corn prices and a tight money supply, Chenoa Mayor Walt Hetman announced Wednesday that developers for a $180 million ethanol plant have decided not to renew their option to buy.

"The developers (LB Anderson and Co. and Interstate Realty Inc.) still want to develop the area, and I understand they are meeting with a marketing firm to keep promoting it," said Hetman.

In November 2006, Hetman announced U.S. Ethanol was interested in building a 100-acre ethanol plant on the 550-acre industrial park located south of U.S. 24. The plant would create up to 500 construction jobs and 65 full-time workers.

Pat Hinner, owner of AGRA Industries which was hired to build the plant, said the plan would have processed as much as 40 million bushels of corn a year into 100 million gallons of ethanol annually. Hinner added the plant would have operated 24 hours a day, been able to store up to one million bushels of corn, and receive grain by truck and rail.

Developing a Tax Increment Financing district was a key condition for the proposal, so the Chenoa City Council created a TIF district last April. Although the plant is not going to be built, Hetman believes the TIF and Chenoa's rail link and connections to U.S. 24 and Interstate 55 will attract other businesses to the industrial park.

"It would have been a nice base for the property we annexed, so hopefully the developers will work hard to get someone in there," said Hetman.

The plant was to be the first of six U.S. Ethanol planned to develop over the next few years. There is no word whether the company will continue developing the other plants.