As soaring gas prices drive a growing number of consumers to consider alternative fuels, officials are considering a proposal to build what would be Los Angeles County's first ethanol plant.

And BlueFire Ethanol says its plant, proposed for Lancaster, also would be the first commercial facility in the country to process biowaste - woodchips, grass cuttings and other organic waste from a nearby landfill - into ethanol.

"We turn something that is useless into high-value commodities," said Bill Davis, vice president of project management for the Irvine-based company. "It has huge potential for us, our company, the state of California, the United States."

The county Planning Commission will consider the proposal Wednesday. If approved, construction on the $30 million plant - next to the Lancaster landfill in the Antelope Valley - could start as early as next month.

Ethanol is an alcohol added to gasoline that helps reduce the release of harmful particulates and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It is also seen as a potential alternative fuel in itself when used in concentrations of 85 percent or more, although there is extensive scientific debate over how environmentally friendly and effective ethanol fuel is.

In California, gasoline contains almost 6 percent ethanol, and federal law will soon increase that requirement to 10 percent.

County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents Lancaster, has been working with company officials for two years on the proposal, said Norm Hickling, the supervisor's Antelope Valley deputy.

Antonovich believes the project will benefit the Antelope Valley and beyond, Hickling said, because it would create jobs, divert material going into landfills and provide environmentally friendly fuel.

"It's very innovative and supportive of a clean environment," Hickling said.

The plant also is planned as the push for biofuels and alternative vehicles is increasing in California and across the country.

Since 2007, the federal Department of Energy has invested more than $1 billion in biofuel research, development and demonstration, said DOE spokeswoman Jennifer Scoggins.

That's because the process of turning non-food material into fuel is cleaner and reduces greenhouse-gas emissions, Scoggins said.

It also doesn't compete with the country's food supply because unlike traditional ethanol - which is typically produced from corn - the Lancaster plant would produce it with organic waste products.

Ethanol is playing an important role in the nation's gasoline supply because without it, the nation's gas prices would rise another 20 to 35 cents a gallon, she said.

"Ethanol is helping us save at the pump and it is clean, as well," Scoggins said.

Federal law requires that by 2022, at least 16 billion gallons of fuel used in the United States must come from cellulosic biofuels made from non-food materials.

The California Energy Commission has been pushing for companies to use municipal, agricultural and forest waste products for biofuels for more than a decade, said Mike Smith, the commission's deputy director for fuels and transportation.

"This is the direction we want to be heading in," Smith said.

The renewable fuel standards under federal law will require California, and all states, to use more ethanol, said Gordon Schremp, senior fuels specialist for the California Energy Commission.

Refineries will need to blend more ethanol into their gasoline and it's likely that more gas stations selling E-85 - a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline - will pop up around the state, Schremp said.

"Over the next two to four years, we expect use of ethanol to increase in California significantly," Schremp said. "We are looking at a two-thirds increase."

By the end of August, five ethanol plants will be operating in California - in Madera, Tulare, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Two more plants are expected to be online by the end of the year.

An estimated 80 million gallons of ethanol were produced in California last year, Schremp said. And that number could triple by the end of the year.

Ethanol produced with wood or plants, like the BlueFire project, has an advantage over corn-based ethanol because it has less impact on food prices and it produces fewer greenhouse gases, said Christopher Knittel, an economics professor at University of California, Davis.

Some experts believe that corn-based ethanol harms the environment because the corn must be harvested and dried, but only the cobs can be used in the process, he said.

"All that waste from corn-based ethanol decomposes, which then releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere," Knittel said.

But, he added, the downside to making ethanol with nonfood materials is its high cost.

Arnie Klann, BlueFire's chief executive officer and president, refutes that idea.

Although construction costs for the processing plant can be at least two or three times the cost of a corn-based ethanol plant, production at an ethanol plant using municipal waste is much cheaper.

For example, the Lancaster plant would use reclaimed water and lignin, a byproduct of the production process, to make its own electricity and steam.

"The world is going to be coming to Lancaster to see the first commercial cellulosic ethanol plant," Klann said.

The federal Department of Energy has awarded BlueFire Ethanol a grant of up to $40 million for its next project in Mecca, Calif. The company also has plans for a plant in Corona, Calif.

"The possibilities are almost earth-shaking," BlueFire's Davis said. "If we converted 50 percent of all of the post-sorted municipal waste in the nation, we could virtually eliminate all imported oil."

jerry.berrios@dailynews.com 661-257-5253