Sons And Daughters Of BBCMF Wind, Coal, Alternative Energy Tech/Companies

[mick]

A nascent company called Pacific Ethanol Inc. is somewhat emblematic of the sector.

Shares of Pacific Ethanol slid $2.44, or 12.9 percent, to $16.39 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq, a day after the stock climbed to a 52-week high of $19.14. Trading volume surged to 3.3 million versus a daily average of about 337,000.

Pacific Ethanol doesn't produce ethanol yet, however the company has plans to construct five corn-based ethanol production plants by 2008. Chief Executive Neil Koehler said he expects the company's ethanol business to turn its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2006, when the first plant is scheduled to start operations.

When the five plants are running, Pacific Ethanol will have the capacity to churn out 200 million gallons of ethanol per year. The market currently produces some 4 billion gallons annually.

"The ethanol business is a very profitable business today, and we expect to see good margins with the initiation of our ethanol production," Koehler said.

Pacific Ethanol shares are up 51.5 percent since Jan. 1.