Turner returns to Pacific Ethanol

Pacific Ethanol Inc. has appointed its former chief operating officer as a member of its board of directors.

Ryan Turner is the son-in-law of former California Secretary of State Bill Jones, who is chairman of the board for the ethanol producer and marketer. Jones founded Sacramento-based Pacific Ethanol in 2003.

Turner, who helped found the company, served as chief operating officer until 2006.

Last month, Pacific Ethanol announced it had resumed production at its 60 million-gallon-a-year facility in Burley, Idaho. Pacific Ethanol suspended production of ethanol at the plant in February 2009 because of unfavorable market conditions.

Last year, Pacific Ethanol halted production at three of its four plants — in Burley, Madera and Stockton. Only a plant in Boardman, Ore., remained operating. The plants combined have the capacity to produce 200 million gallons annually, according to a company quarterly report. Pacific Ethanol also owns 42 percent of Front Range Energy LLC, which owns a plant in Windsor, Colo., with an annual production capacity of up to 50 million gallons.

In 2008, before the plants were idled, Pacific Ethanol produced 40 million gallons of ethanol in California, according to the California Energy Commission.

source: bizjournals