AltAir announces camelina biofuels project in California

In California, AltAir Fuels plans to build a biojet plant in Bakersfield that will begin producing fuel in 2012. As a result, farmers in the Central and San Joaquin valleys are being encouraged to grow 25,000 acres of camelina under the Biomass Crop Assistance Program.

The five-year contracts are being offered by the US Farm Service Agency with a base-soil-rental-plus-50 percent incentive which could see farmers average $400 per acre for growing camelina. Another 25,000 acres are expected to enroll in the program for camelina growing in Washington and Montana.