WEST LEBANON, Ind. (AP) - Warren County officials have approved construction of a plant that will produce 115 million gallons of ethanol a year.

It will be the largest ethanol plant built so far by Poet LCC, said Bob Berens, the director of site development for the South Dakota-based company.

The $260 million facility would have about 45 employees. Construction could begin next year, Berens said.

The Warren County Board of Zoning Appeals voted Tuesday to grant a special exemption to allow construction of the plant just north of the town of West Lebanon.

The new plant would be the company's fourth in Indiana. It operates facilities in Jay and Madison counties and is building a third in Wabash County. Poet has 23 plants in operation across the country, with three more under construction.

Leaders in West Lebanon, a community of about 800 people 35 miles west of Lafayette, are excited about the development.

"This would be a big economic stimulus for us," Town Council President Mike Jackson said.

One resident said he expects people will have questions about the plant once the plans are known.

"I don't think a lot of people even know about it," Kenneth Smith said.

He said he had not made up his mind about the plant, but was concerned about emissions, pollution from trucks and the plant's use of water from the area's aquifer.