AE Biofuels Secures Additional Funding for Start-up of Ethanol Plant

Business Wire reports that AE Biofuels, Inc. recently announced that its wholly-owned advanced ethanol subsidiary AE Advanced Fuels Keyes, Inc. closed a $3.5 million financing with Third Eye Capital Corporation. The funds will be used to restart and operate a 55 million gallon per year ethanol plant located in Keyes, California. In November 2010, AE Keyes received $4.5 million from Third Eye Capital to complete the repair and retrofit of the Keyes facility. AE Keyes expects to restart the Keyes plant and be fully operational by late April 2011. AE Keyes took possession of the facility under a project agreement with Cilion, Inc., in 2010. The revised project agreement extends the original lease from three to five years, with an early termination right at three years.