April 19, 2013
Aemetis Announces Restart of 60 million gallon per year Keyes Biofuels Plant
Conversion of Plant to Process Grain Sorghum and Produce Advanced Biofuels Completed
CUPERTINO, Calif. – April 19, 2013 – Aemetis, Inc. (OTCQB: AMTX), an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, announced today that the Aemetis 60 million gallon per year capacity ethanol facility in Keyes, CA has completed maintenance and Advanced Biofuels retrofit, and is now restarting production.
The plant will start up using corn as the principal feedstock, with a transition to using grain sorghum when fully operational. The use of grain sorghum as feedstock along with the use of biogas in a Combined Heat & Power system allows the production of lower-carbon biofuels, as defined by rules approved in December 2012 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Advanced Biofuels generate EPA-issued D5 Renewable Identification Numbers (RIN’s).
“We have an exceptionally capable technical and operations team at Aemetis, as demonstrated by the timely completion of this maintenance process and Advanced Biofuels conversion,” said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis. “About $5 million of capital investment and new working capital has been invested since the plant shutdown in mid January in order to convert to the use of milo (grain sorghum) from both domestic and international feedstock producers.”
McAfee stated, “The Keyes plant is unique in several ways, including its location near a deep water Pacific port, enabling the importation of lower-cost, lower-carbon, Advanced Biofuels feedstocks. The plant was constructed with a Combined Heat & Power system in order to produce electricity and heat from natural gas onsite, rather than relying solely on grid power. By sourcing biogas instead of natural gas and using lower-cost grain sorghum feedstock, the Keyes plant can now produce Advanced Biofuel that is expected to generate valuable D5 Advanced Biofuels RIN’s under the recent EPA rules.”
Aemetis has posted an updated company presentation on its website at www.Aemetis.com/media/presentations.
Forward Looking Statements
The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements related to future events. Statements regarding future events are based on current expectations and are necessarily subject to associated risks related to, among other things, the ability of the company to adopt alternative feedstocks, processes and equipment, as well as the spread between the feedstock we purchase and the fuel and co-products we sell. Actual results may differ materially from those in the projections or other forward-looking statements made herein. For information regarding other related risks, please see the “Risk Factors” section of the company’s filings with the SEC.
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