Pacific Ethanol Announces Appointment of Douglas Jeffries as Chief Financial Officer

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEIX) today announced the appointment of Douglas Jeffries as Chief Financial Officer, effective May 29, 2007.

Mr. Jeffries, 50, comes to Pacific Ethanol with over twenty five years of financial experience, most recently with eBay Inc., where he was Vice President of Finance & Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to joining eBay in 2003, Mr. Jeffries held executive leadership roles in finance and technology with GenCorp, Red Herring Communications, Cardinal Health and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Jeffries is a CPA and holds an MBA from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor's degree in Accounting from California State University, Chico.

Chairman Bill Jones noted that, "Pacific Ethanol has taken the time necessary to fill this key position, and we now are delighted to announce the appointment of Doug Jeffries, whose depth of experience at dynamic companies, where he helped develop the financial infrastructures that scaled in support of rapid growth, will prove invaluable as we continue to expand."

Commenting upon the appointment, CEO Neil Koehler added, "Doug's strong financial background, public company experience and proven track record in improving company performance and shareholder value, will be a significant asset to us as we continue to execute on our strategic plan."

Jeffries remarked, "I am very excited to join Pacific Ethanol as its Chief Financial Officer, and look forward to working with its experienced management team to oversee the Company's continued rapid growth. I have been impressed with the Company's strategic vision and consistent execution and look forward to helping the management team solidify its position as the largest West Coast-based marketer and producer of renewable fuels."

About Pacific Ethanol, Inc.

Pacific Ethanol is the largest West Coast-based marketer and producer of ethanol. Pacific Ethanol has an ethanol plant in Madera, California, and has four additional plants under construction in Boardman, Oregon, Burley, Idaho, in the Imperial Valley near Calipatria, California, and in Stockton, California. Pacific Ethanol also owns a 42% interest in Front Range Energy, LLC which owns an ethanol plant in Windsor, Colorado. Central to its growth strategy is its destination business model, whereby each respective ethanol plant achieves lower process and transportation costs by servicing local markets for both fuel and feed. In February 2007, Pacific Ethanol obtained a $325 million credit facility to provide financing for its first five ethanol production facilities. Pacific Ethanol's goal is to achieve 220 million gallons per year of ethanol production capacity by the middle of 2008 and to increase total production capacity to 420 million gallons per year by the end of 2010. In addition, Pacific Ethanol is working to identify and develop other renewable fuel technologies, such as cellulose-based ethanol production and bio-diesel.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

With the exception of historical information, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The actual future results of Pacific Ethanol could differ from those statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the factors contained in the "Risk Factors" section of Pacific Ethanol's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 12, 2007.

SOURCE Pacific Ethanol, Inc.

Released May 4, 2007