[size=2]Contractors working at a former ethanol plant site in southern Ohio are reporting a rash of scrap metal thefts at their work site.

According to a report in the Ironton (Ohio) Tribune, more than $25,000 worth of red metals and aluminum scrap have been stolen from the site of a former ethanol plant that is being converted to a wood-fired energy plant by a company called Biomass Energy LLC, Nicholasville, Ky.

A local demolition contractor working on behalf of Biomass Energy at the site is offering a $1,000 reward for information on the thefts.

Jack Hager of Southern Ohio Salvage and Contracting is quoted by the Tribune as saying, "There are more thieves than there are jobs" in his part of the state, and that the thieves are reducing the profitability of his contract to clean up and remove scrap from the site before Biomass Energy begins building its $300 million energy plant.

Hager indicated to the newspaper that more than 2.5 tons of copper has been stolen at the site in one prior incident. "We