Aemetis Inc (NASDAQ:AMTX) said today it has signed a lease in Riverbank, California that provides for the construction of a plant to produce cellulosic ethanol from waste orchard wood and nutshells.

The 55-year lease is at a former US Army munitions facility, which is located close to Aemetis' existing ethanol plant in Keyes, California.

The planned cellulosic ethanol biorefinery will use proprietary technologies developed by Aemetis, Lanzatech and InEnTec. Aemetis plans to build the site in phases to create annual capacity of more than 40 million gallons (151 million litres) of cellulosic ethanol, starting with more than 10 million gallons in the first phase.

The company noted that the almond, walnut and pistachio orchards in the Central Valley of California produce more than 1.6 million tonnes of waste orchard wood and nutshells per year. At the same time, the market price of cellulosic ethanol in California is currently estimated at more than USD 4.50 (EUR 3.8m) per gallon, or about USD 3.00 higher than that of conventional ethanol.

Article by Renewables Now: Aemetis secures site for cellulosic ethanol plant in California