FRESNO, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEIX)
announced today that its Chief Financial Officer, William G. Langley, intends to resign and
retire effective today. The Company and Mr. Langley have entered into a separation and
consulting agreement whereby Mr. Langley has agreed to provide certain consulting services
to the Company for a period of eight months commencing upon his retirement. As a
consultant, he will help to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities to a new Chief Financial
Officer and will assist in special projects. Mr. Langley began his tenure as the Company's Chief
Financial Officer in April
2005.

    Bill Jones, Chairman of the Board of Pacific Ethanol, in speaking for the Board of Directors,
noted that, "Bill Langley has provided valuable contributions in managing our transition to a
publicly traded company. We are grateful for his input during this critical period in the Company's
growth and wish him well in his retirement."
   

In anticipating Mr. Langley's retirement, Mr. Jones said that the Company is actively recruiting
and evaluating potential replacements.

    About Pacific Ethanol, Inc. - Pacific Ethanol owns and operates an ethanol plant in
Madera County, California, is constructing a second plant in Boardman, Oregon and owns
a 42% interest in Front Range Energy, LLC which owns and operates an ethanol plant in
Windsor, Colorado. Pacific Ethanol's goal is to become the leading marketer and producer
of renewable fuels in the Western United States. In May 2006, Pacific Ethanol completed an
equity funding of $138 million which provided the Company with sufficient cash to both
accelerate its stated goal of completing five ethanol production facilities totaling 220 million
gallons of capacity per year by the middle of 2008 and its plans to complete additional ethanol
production facilities, increasing total capacity to 420 million gallons per year by the end of 2010.
Pacific Ethanol, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kinergy Marketing, LLC, is the largest
West Coast- based marketer of ethanol. In addition, Pacific Ethanol is working to identify and
develop other renewable fuel technologies such as cellulose-based ethanol production and bio-diesel.