Pacific Ethanol receives $3 million grant

By Reed Fujii

Posted Nov. 24, 2014 @ 7:02 pm

State energy officials awarded Pacific Ethanol Inc. $3 million to help develop grain sorghum as a low-carbon feedstock, replacing some of the corn traditionally used, at its plants in Stockton and Madera.

The award came at the California Energy Commission meeting last week and was part of $7.7 million in grants made under the state Alternative and Renewable Fuels and Vehicle Technology Program.

Paul Koehler, a spokesman for Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol, said the company is working with two other California ethanol producers — Aemetis Inc. in Keyes and Calgren Renewable Fuels in Pixley — to encourage the development of grain sorghum in California for the production of ethanol.”

“We’re all interested in developing more noncorn feedstocks,” he said.

“It’s supporting demand for a crop that can be grown in California, particularly on marginal lands,” he said of the grant.

Koehler said the new grant will go toward making plant improvements to accommodate the use of sorghum, make support payments to sorghum growers and underwrite outreach programs to encourage more California farmers to cultivate the crop for ethanol production.

Pacific Ethanol used sorghum at its Stockton plant in 2013, but high commodity prices made it unattractive as a feedstock this year, Koehler said.

Other alternative and renewable fuels grants awarded last week were:

• San Mateo received $2.4 million to produce low-carbon biomethane from the unused digester gas generated at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The biomethane will be used to fuel fleet vehicles.

• South Coast Air Quality Management District got $1.4 million to install overhead wire infrastructure to demonstrate zero-emission truck operations along Interstate 710 in Los Angeles County.

• CalSTART Inc. of Pasadena received $900,000 grant to develop and demonstrate a battery/fuel cell hybrid zero-emission transit bus.

http://www.recordnet.com/article/20141124/NEWS/141129762/101038/A_BIZ