Calgren Renewable Nearing Completion of California Fuel Ethanol Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources( Sugar Land, Texas)--Privately held ethanol start-up Calgren Renewable Fuels LLC (Aliso Viejo, California) is nearing completion of its new fuel ethanol plant located in Pixley, California. Driving by the site, it would appear the plant is operational; however, the company is tweaking instrumentation and still has yet to pave the main road at the entrance of the plant.

The current schedule has the plant's technology provider Lurgi Incorporated (Memphis, Tennessee) mobilizing a start-up team to the site to start the commissioning process around the middle of April in anticipation of beginning the plant's first corn grinds in the middle of May 2008. Once commissioning is complete, the first batches of ethanol are expected to begin flowing from the plant during the last week of May.

Construction of the plant started in March 2007 under the direction of Lurgi and general contractor W.M. Lyles Company (Fresno, California).

The plant will have a nameplate capacity of producing 52.5 million gallons per year of ethanol and 55 million gallons per year of denatured finished product. The 20 million bushels of corn required to run the plant will be shipped in from the Midwest to the J.D. Heiskell grain handling operation near the plant and will be transported to the ethanol plant for processing via elevators and conveyor systems.

The plant is located about 45 miles north of Bakersfield at 11813 Road 120 in Pixley located in Tulare County.

Cost estimates to build the plant were in the $100 million range.

Industrial Info's Ethanol Database provides a comprehensive outline of all current development activities in the emerging alternative fuels market. This database covers 147 ethanol plants in operation and 530 plants under development. It also covers 98 operational biodiesel plants and 245 biodiesel plants under development.

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