PACIFIC ETHANOL, INC. ANNOUNCES REPAYMENT OF $

PACIFIC ETHANOL, INC. ANNOUNCES REPAYMENT OF $10.0 MILLION IN UNSECURED NOTES

Sacramento, CA, Oct. 3, 2012 – Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX), the leading
marketer and producer of low-carbon renewable fuels in the Western United States, announced it
has fully repaid its $10.0 million in senior unsecured notes with proceeds from the public
offering that closed Wednesday, September 26, 2012. The notes were due in April 2013.

Neil Koehler, the company’s president and CEO, stated: “The equity we raised on
September 26th allowed us to repay the $10.0 million debt in advance of its maturity date,
significantly reducing the company’s short-term debt obligations and related interest payments.
This and the recent increase in our ownership position in the plants are important milestones
marking progress in our plans to improve the profitability of our business.”

About Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is the leading marketer and producer of low-carbon renewable fuels in the
Western United States. Pacific Ethanol also sells co-products, including wet distillers grain (WDG), a nutritional
animal feed. Serving integrated oil companies and gasoline marketers who blend ethanol into gasoline, Pacific
Ethanol provides transportation, storage and delivery of ethanol through third-party service providers in the Western
United States, primarily in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho and Washington. Pacific
Ethanol has a 67% ownership interest in New PE Holdco LLC, the owner of four ethanol production facilities.
Pacific Ethanol operates and manages the four ethanol production facilities, which have a combined annual
production capacity of 200 million gallons. The facilities in operation are located in Boardman, Oregon, Burley,
Idaho and Stockton, California, and one idled facility is located in Madera, California. The facilities are near their
respective fuel and feed customers, offering significant timing, transportation cost and logistical advantages. Pacific
Ethanol’s subsidiary, Kinergy Marketing LLC, markets ethanol from Pacific Ethanol’s managed plants and from
other third-party production facilities, and another subsidiary, Pacific Ag. Products, LLC, markets WDG. For more
information please visit www.pacificethanol.net.