BURLEY, Idaho – A Delaware bankruptcy court has given Pacific Ethanol the green light to reopen its Burley ethanol plant.

Paul Koehler, Pacific Ethanol Inc. vice president, told the Twin Falls Times-News the court approved a plan to restart the 60-million-gallon-per-year plant early next year.

The company obtained its lenders’ approval in November to proceed with the plan. Approval from the bankruptcy court was the final step.

Koehler said Pacific Ethanol has rehired many of the two dozen workers who were laid off after the first of the year. The company plans to hire 35-40 workers altogether.

Plant managers were retained when the plant closed last February.

The plant will produce enough ethanol to match consumer demand, Koehler said, adding that he expected the plant to reach full production within six weeks.

The company’s subsidiaries, which own four ethanol plants, suspended production in three plants and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. Koehler said the Burley plant is the only one to reopen at this time. The Boardman plant continued operating while the others closed.

– Dean Brickey