CAMILLA — Hundreds gathered in Mitchell County Wednesday for the groundbreaking ceremony on the planned site of a new First United Ethanol LLC (FUEL) plant — the first of its kind in Georgia.

Investors from across the state joined several local, state and U.S. officials in breaking ground on the plant, which is scheduled for construction in the coming months.

Murray Campbell, chairman of the FUEL board of directors, said the beginning of construction was the culmination of almost two years of hard work put into planning the ethanol plant.

“We’ve been working on this for 23 months and we’re extremely excited about it because of the strategic importance it has not only for our agricultural region but for our country,” Campbell said.

The FUEL plant was made possible by a $10 million bond backed by Mitchell County, plus $170 million from investors in the company, Campbell said.

“This is not my plant and it’s not this board’s plant. This is our plant, collectively,” he said to investors. “We have created a new public company that we own. Without you investing in it, we would not be standing here today.”

Mitchell County Commission Chairman Ben Hayward said the county welcomes the new plant with open arms.

“We will make an example for South Georgia and the southeastern United States. We’re not just talking about alternative fuel. In Mitchell County, we are alternative fuel. We are on the right track,” he said.

State House Rep. Richard Royal said the plant would have a great economic impact for the area.

“Not only do we have a $170 million investment and 40 to 60 new jobs, we have the first ethanol plant of any size for commercial production in the state of Georgia. We’ve got to do something about developing alternative fuels and we’re going to get started right,” he said.

U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss also spoke of the need for alternative fuels in Georgia and across the U.S.

“In our country, there is nothing more important for us to do for the quality of our environment, our energy independence and the geopolitical world we live in than for us to have renewable energy in abundance in the United States of America,” Isakson said.

“This ethanol plant is a first for Georgia, and the first of many that will come. It’s going to help us relieve our dependence on foreign oil, improve our environment and our atmosphere and provide jobs for Georgians,” he said.

Chambliss pointed out that some 62 percent of the United States’ energy needs are supplied by foreign countries.

“The petroleum issue is the one we’re going to be pointing to over and over again. It’s you folks, by your commitment and investment into this facility, that are going to help reduce that 62 percent down to a more manageable figure,” Chambliss said.

He also said most of that foreign oil comes from countries led by unstable leaders in unstable parts of the world.

Another benefit of the Mitchell County plant, Chambliss said, is that it would help retain more of the area’s young people.

“We are losing too many of our young people out of rural Georgia because they don’t have the opportunity to come back to their community after they get out of school. There simply aren’t the jobs they want to have,” he said.

“With the construction of facilities like this, we’re going to be able to allow young people an opportunity to have a very good paying job. They’ll be able to live in a part of the world in which they want to live, and provide quality of life for them and their families,” Chambliss said.

In closing, Campbell paid tribute to Mitchell County resident Lewis B. Collins, who promoted the use of corn and other crops as fuel sources as early as the 1970s. In honor of his vision, one of the roads leading to the plant will be called Lewis B. Collins Lane.