California Firm Gets Ethanol from Whey

February 2, 2001

The Golden Cheese Company of California has started producing ethanol in January from cheese whey residue left from cheese processing. Golden Cheese becomes the second ethanol producer in California. The increasing production and use of ethanol in California will be a major topic at the Renewable Fuels Association-sponsored National Ethanol Conference in Las Vegas Feb. 18-20.

"The RFA is excited to see Golden Cheese join the ranks of California ethanol producers," said Eric Vaughn, president of the RFA. "As MTBE is phased-out and replaced with ethanol in California, we are committed to growing the California ethanol industry. Golden Cheese is a great example of a farmer-owned cooperative converting an agriculture waste product into a renewable fuel. This is great for California consumers and the environment. We're very proud that Golden Cheese is the newest member of the RFA."

The Golden Cheese Company, a division of Dairy Farmers of America, is located in Corona, CA, and employs 375 people. The company processes 5 million pounds of milk per day into cheese. Cheese whey, a residual product of this process, then is converted into ethanol. While Golden Cheese had produced ethanol for more than 10 years beginning in the mid-1980s, production had been halted due to the lack of an ethanol market in California. Golden Cheese restarted production this month in response to the growing California ethanol market resulting from the phase-out of MTBE. Golden Cheese creates enough cheese whey to produce 5 million gallons of ethanol per year.