Biofuel maker KiOR Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, although its Mississippi subsidiary has not, preserving the chance that its Columbus, Miss., plant could be sold quickly, The Associated Press reported yesterday. The company, based in Pasadena, Texas, filed for chapter 11 protection late Sunday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, where it is incorporated. KiOR defaulted on a loan from Mississippi last week after failing to make a $1.8 million debt payment. The state says that KiOR Columbus LLC, owned by KiOR, owes $78.6 million. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said that he was working with Attorney General Jim Hood and state Auditor Stacey Pickering to recover the money. The company borrowed $75 million from Mississippi to build a refinery in Columbus meant to make fuel from wood chips, but the $230 million plant never worked as designed, and KiOR subsequently laid off almost all of its workers. The state is now trying to find a buyer for the complex on the Tombigbee River just west of downtown Columbus. It's possible that the only money Mississippi will recover will come from the sale of the plant.
