A group of northeast Nebraskans has moved closer to building a 20 million gallon ethanol plant. At a gathering in March, the group agreed to continue to research issues related to the plant's construction.

An earlier study concluded that 77 million bushels of grain are grown in a 7-county area, ten times what the plant would use annually. The study also found that more than 320,000 cattle are raised in the region, five times the amount needed for the feedstock by-product market.

The most recent study assessed location, finding the best plant location to be Orchard or Plainview. The study also assessed the plant's yearly needs: 52 million gallons of water, 22 million kilowatts of electricity, and 560,000 million cubic feet of natural gas.