It was just days ago that the government announced its intention to revive the biofuels industry with the formation of the Biofuel Interagency.  The help couldn’t come any faster for Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), the largest ethanol producer on the West Coast.  While the company itself didn’t file bankruptcy, it did place four of its production plants in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection which had defaulted on about a quarter of a billion in debt.  Ethanol producers have been squeezed by lower fuel prices and rising corn prices with government subsidies not able to pick up the slack.

Shares of PEIX moved much closer to zero today, down 44% to .32/share.