01/29/07 Pacific Ethanol to build Idaho plant

California-based Pacific Ethanol Inc is coming to Idaho with plans to build a 50 million gallon ethanol production facility. Construction on the plant at Burley could begin in late February. Vice President Tom Koehler says the plant should be up and running about one year from now. KOEHLER "There's corn that's coming into the area right now from out of state was well as corn that's being grown in the area and so we will use both of those sources. Take the starch out of it, produce ethanol and then what's left over is a concentrated high value protein feed for the dairy market." With 300 thousand cows and about 100 thousand cattle in feed lots in the Magic Valley there's a ready made market for the wet distiller's grain that comes from ethanol production. Pacific Ethanol will invest about 100 million dollars into the plant which will be built on 177 acres near Interstate 84 and the Union Pacific rail line. KOEHLER "It's a great fuel. It's cheaper than gasoline and so we're hoping to market it in Idaho as well as other parts of the western states." Renova Energy is in the process of building a 20 million gallon ethanol production plant in Burley on the site of the old Simplot potato processing plant. Like Pacific Ethanol, Renova hopes to have its corn-fed plant up and running about a year from now. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott