Jul 21, 2008 4:24 am US/Pacific
County Mulls Possible Ethanol Plant
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
Los Angeles officials this week will consider whether to approve the county's first ethanol plant.
Irvine-based BlueFire Ethanol says its plant proposed for Lancaster would be the first commercial facility in the nation to process biowaste into ethanol.
Ethanol is an alcohol added to gasoline to make it burn cleaner. Christopher Knittel, an economics professor at the University of California, Davis, says ethanol made with wood or plants produces fewer greenhouse gasses than the more common corn-based ethanol.
The county Planning Commission will consider the proposal Wednesday, and construction on the $30 million plant could start as early as next month.
California will have five ethanol plants operating by the end of August.
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