California Ethanol + Power (CE+P) has announced a new sugarcane production program for Imperial Valley farmers to produce feedstock for a planned low-carbon ethanol production and biomass energy campus set to begin construction this year.

CE+P will engage with the local farming communities to secure formal commitments to grow the first 20,000 acres of sugarcane feedstock for Sugar Valley Energy, a 160-acre project designed to produce 68 million gallons of low-carbon sugarcane ethanol annually, which will be the first facility of its kind to be built in the United States of America.

Dave Rubenstein, CEO of California Ethanol & Power, said the program will eventually allow opportunities for up to 60 local farmers to produce an estimated 48,000 acres of sugarcane crop, and growing agreements will be completed in a phased approach during the 2-3 year engineering and construction process for the new campus. The agreements are long-term and provide assurances for stabilized revenues for growers from the Sugar Valley Energy team, he added.

Sugar Valley Energy’s low-carbon fuel and energy products will assist the state of California in meeting its low-carbon fuel standards and carbon reduction initiatives. The campus represents the first in-state production facility for low-carbon ethanol. The ethanol products will be marketed under the new Essential EthanolTM brand, used as a gasoline additive and numerous other industrial and household applications. The campus will also generate needed electrical power and bio-methane gas, while providing a new wastewater treatment facility to support regional infrastructure.