Renew Energy in Jefferson notified the state Friday that it might have to close, but the company's chief executive officer said he doesn't expect that to happen.

The ethanol manufacturing facility, located on Jefferson's north side, is up for sale and a buyer could be announced by Dec. 14, said CEO Jeff White. "I'm confident there will be a sale and that we'll come out the other side and we'll continue to operate," White said. Potential buyers of the plant could be identified Monday.

A plant-closing notice filed by Renew with the state Department of Workforce Development said 70 employees could be affected, effective Dec. 11.

The ethanol plant, which filed for bankruptcy in February with $100 million in debts, is owned by Paul Olsen, owner of Olsen's Mill of Berlin, a grain supplier that was sold in April out of receivership to local investors.

The plant opened in October 2007 as the state's largest ethanol plant. It is producing about 210,000 gallons of ethanol a day using 80,000 bushels of corn per day and had $1.5 million in positive cash flow in October, White said.

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