I talked with CEO Bowers on the phone late Friday. He says that construction has already started on the 10 million gal/year plant. Still on schedule to start up late this year or at beginning of next year at worst. He also says that they're in the process of getting a new PR firm, of tapping into the California Clear Waters Environmental Act for government grant money (Colusa was already assured that they qualify), and are working with Pink Sheets to get the trading problem on some platforms (eg, Scottrade) worked out. He really sounded incredibly positive about things going on with CLME, things that would be announced soon.
I hope to get up to Colusa (about an hour north of Sacramento- where I live) when I get some time later this week. I'll bring my camera and see if I can find the construction site and get some pictures to post.
Separately, I found the article (below) in the Saturday Sacramento Bee. See the part that I underlined.
Ethanol's Impact Surging
Fuel production facility is proposed for Army Depot.
By Dale Kasler - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, March 31, 2007
Story appeared in BUSINESS section, Page D4
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The ethanol boom could be coming to the former Sacramento Army Depot.
The developer who's been turning the depot into a business park said Friday he wants to build a $100 million ethanol-production plant at the western edge of the park. The developer, Dick Fischer, is calling his new company Golden State Ethanol.
The plant would be the only significant ethanol plant located in a major urban area, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a trade association representing the biofuels industry. But developer Dick Fischer, head of Seattle-based Fischer Properties, said he doesn't anticipate major problems in obtaining the necessary permits.
"It's so benign," Fischer said. "You can stand a block away from one and not smell it, not hear it."
The proposed plant would be capable of making 100 million gallons of ethanol a year -- enough to supply 10 percent of California's needs. Ethanol made from corn is a leading gasoline additive, and California uses more ethanol than any other state.
Scientists are experimenting with technologies for making ethanol from other raw materials, and Fischer said he's intrigued with the idea of using Sacramento Valley rice straw.
But the Golden State plant would begin operations as a traditional corn-based ethanol producer. Fischer's company is working on engineering studies and hopes to have the project done in a couple of years.
The proposed plant was first revealed by Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo in her State of the City speech Friday afternoon. Others in the ethanol business were caught off-guard by the announcement.
"There's all sorts of names popping up these days," said Neil Koehler, president of Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol Inc., which owns a plant in Madera and is building four others.
Ethanol production in the United States jumped 24 percent last year, and some analysts are warning of a possible glut. But Fischer said he isn't worried and is confident his company will obtain financing for the project.
Fischer's partner in the project is Gregg Renkes, a former Alaska state attorney general and a one-time staffer with the U.S. Senate Energy Committee. He resigned as attorney general in 2005 amid conflict of interest allegations. Fischer called the matter "political" and said his partner, a longtime friend, is one of the most ethical people he knows.
An independent investigation concluded that Renkes didn't violate the state's ethics code.
About the writer:
• The Bee's Dale Kasler can be reached at (916) 321-1066 or dkasler@sacbee.com.
