Ethanol company gets backing from Gates firm
C|Net | at | by Mike
Cascade Investment, a venture and investment firm funded by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, has finalized an $84 million investment in Pacific Ethanol, as the momentum for clean technology grows.
Fresno, Calif.-based Pacific manufactures a corn-derived ethanol that can be mixed with gas to power cars or, potentially, in hydrogen fuel cells. The company also sells chemical byproducts created in ethanol production, a key sideline for the profitability of ethanol companies.
The investment will help Pacific fund the construction of a plant in Madera County, which is slated to open in the fourth quarter of this year, and subsequent plants. By the end of 2008, Pacific expects to be operating five plants in the Western U.S. capable of producing 200 million gallons of ethanol.