Golden State to build ethanol plants in Vietnam

Golden State Biofuels, a division of U.S.-based housing developer FullOn Holdings Inc., has inked a contract with the Vietnamese government to construct and operate 10 ethanol plants with a total price tag of US$200 million. The plants will use feedstock rice hulls and have a capacity to generate 5,000 gallons of ethanol per day each. If the undertaking proves successful, another 150 plants could be added by 2016, said FullOn Holdings Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Kamahele Figueroa. According to the 49-year exclusive agreement, a portion of the ethanol sales revenue will be used for the treatment of seven million Vietnamese citizens poisoned by Agent Orange defoliant during the Vietnam War. (August 31, 2009)