The EPA approval will also allow the company to generate D5 RINs for separated food waste feedstock used at the Keyes plant.
RINs are serial numbers assigned to every gallon of biofuel domestically produced or imported into the US in order to track its production, use, and trading as mandated by EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The Keyes plant, which has the flexible feedstock design, will enable the company to use both traditional and advanced feedstocks and energy sources to produce renewable fuels including advanced biofuels.
Aemetis chairman and CEO Eric McAfee said that the company’s plants in the US and India generated $190m of revenues in 2012 that represents the company is already at commercial scale in the production of non-food, lower-carbon, advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals.
"The Aemetis 50 mgy India renewable fuels plant was uniquely constructed in 2008 to use the stearine waste product from the edible oils industry to produce non-food biodiesel and refined glycerin for pharmaceutical and industrial customers.
"After several years of work and significant investment, today the Aemetis Keyes plant was approved by the EPA as the first corn ethanol plant in the US to be converted to use lower-carbon feedstocks and renewable energy sources to produce Advanced Biofuels and earn valuable D5 RINs," McAfee added.
