Pacific Ethanol gets $40m, Canadian ethanol gets $4m

The words ‘ethanol’ and ‘millions of dollars of investment’ are natural bedfellows these days, it seems. They’re going together like the proverbial horse and carriage, like good cheese and wine, like fish and chips, like Cannon and Ball. Yes, they’re that perfect together. Greenbang has amassed evidence to prove her theory:

Exhibit A: Biofuels maker Pacific Ethanol has got a $40 million funding injection from Lyles United after selling some of its stock to the company. Lyles recently gave Pacific Ethanol $30 million in debt financing.

In a filing last week with the SEC, Pacific Ethanol said this:

We believe that current and future capital resources, revenues generated from operations and other existing sources of liquidity, including available proceeds from our existing debt financing, will be adequate to fund our operations through 2008 and meet our capital expenditure requirements to reach our goal of 220 million gallons of annual production capacity in 2008 upon completion of our Burley and Stockton facilities. We will require substantial additional financing to reach our goal of 420 million gallons of annual production capacity in 2010 and we plan to reach this goal through new construction or acquisition of additional ethanol production facilities. If ethanol production margins deteriorate from current levels, if we experience additional cost overruns at our ethanol production facilities under construction, if our capital requirements or cash flows otherwise vary materially and adversely from our current projections, or if other adverse unforeseen circumstances occur, our working capital may be inadequate to fully fund our operations or meet our capital expenditure requirements, or both. We are presently exploring potential sources of new financing to provide additional working capital. Our failure to raise capital if or when needed may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity and cash flows and may restrict our growth and hinder our ability to compete.

In other biofuels news, the government of Canada has dished out the folding matter to Ontario biofuels mob IGPC Ethanol for a new plant.

Here’s the skinny:

The 150 million litre ethanol plant, expected to be completed this November, has also received equity investment from farmers totalling close to $15.5 million. In addition to ethanol, the plant will produce distillers dried grains with solubles and distillers wet grains, sources of protein for dairy and beef cows, hogs and poultry, and carbon dioxide for use in carbonated beverages, freezing foods and making chemicals. This is the third ethanol plant funded under the ecoABC initiative and its opening is expected to create 35 new jobs in the region.