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November 3, 2009
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BFRE), a company focused on changing the world's transportation fuel paradigm through the production of ethanol from non-food cellulosic wastes, has received a $3.8 million reimbursement from the Department of Energy to be used for pre-construction activities for its second planned biorefinery, which will be located in Fulton, Mississippi.
BlueFire is currently receiving funding under the $40 million DOE grant it was awarded in 2007 for the development of the Mississippi plant. The $3.8 million reimbursement was issued to cover costs spent on the basic engineering design that is directly correlated to the development of BlueFire's Fulton, Miss. plant.
"This reimbursement provides additional cash flow for pre-construction activities including permitting and basic preliminary engineering for our Fulton, Mississippi plant," said Arnold Klann, chief executive officer at BlueFire Ethanol. "The DOE's continued financial support coupled with the current administration's goal to rapidly deploy cellulosic biofuels projects allows BlueFire to bring to fruition its mission of providing non-food-based biofuels to the densely populated locations in the greatest need of fuel."
BlueFire Ethanol's facilities will use its commercially-ready, patented and proven Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology Process for the profitable conversion of cellulosic waste ("Green Waste") into cellulosic ethanol. Derived from non-foodstock urban, forestry and agricultural residues, this form of ethanol is a completely renewable and highly-economical alternative to gasoline and other types of ethanol.
The Fulton, Miss. project, BlueFire's second planned commercial cellulosic ethanol plant, will allow BlueFire to utilize green and wood wastes available in the region as feedstock for the ethanol plant that will be designed to produce approximately 18 million gallons of ethanol per year.
BlueFire has also completed a 20-month licensing process and is currently awaiting the final financing needed to break ground on its shovel-ready, fully permitted ethanol biorefinery in Lancaster, CA. The Lancaster facility will use post-sorted cellulosic wastes diverted from Southern California's landfills to produce approximately 3.9 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol per year.
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October 28, 2009
California-based BlueFire Ethanol received approval from the Department of Energy (DOE) recently to locate its second planned cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Fulton, Mississippi.
The company was awarded a $40 million dollar grant from DOE for a second facility in 2007 that was originally to be located in California. However, development and licensing concerns, coupled with the challenging business climate in California caused company officials to petition the DOE for a site change to Mississippi. "We determined the Fulton site located in north eastern Mississippi was best suited to fulfill our requirements for our second biorefinery plant after studying various locations in several states over the past year," said BlueFire President and CEO Arnold Klann.
The Mississippi project will allow BlueFire to utilize green and wood wastes available in the region as feedstock for the ethanol plant that will be designed to produce approximately 18 million gallons of ethanol per year. BlueFire is currently awaiting the final financing needed to break ground on its first ethanol biorefinery in Lancaster, CA. The Lancaster facility will use post-sorted cellulosic wastes diverted from Southern California's landfills to produce approximately 3.9 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol per year
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8/4/08
Irvine, Calif.-based cellulosic ethanol company BlueFire Ethanol Fuels Inc. has received its first installment of U.S. DOE funding for the development of its BlueFire Mecca LLC facility near Palm Springs, Calif.
The company is expected to break ground next year on the plant, which is expected to be online in 2010. Approximately 17 MMgy of cellulosic ethanol will be produced from wood wastes, cardboard and paper, as well as other biomass that would otherwise be thrown into a landfill.
BlueFire was one of six U.S. cellulosic ethanol companies to be awarded a total of $40 million in DOE funding aimed at increasing the use of renewable and alternative fuels. The funding was announced in March 2007. BlueFire is the first entity to draw down on the grant money to use towards advancement of the project, said Arnold Klan, BlueFire's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"The negotiations were hard and long because, of course, as the DOE is trying to protect the stakeholders, which is the people of the U.S. to make sure this technology gets deployed," Klann said. "They were tough negotiators but we got our agreements in place and we feel very confident that we can execute on that project. We're excited that we're able to draw down that sum of money."
A pioneer in cellulosic ethanol production, BlueFire holds the exclusive North American rights for process technology developed by Arkenol Fuels LLC. Arkenol's patented process utilizes a "concentrated acid hydrolysis" pathway, which is amenable for handling the wide range of feedstocks BlueFire intends to use, according to Klann. BlueFire can get about 70 gallons of ethanol per ton of biomass material," so it'll have a high conversion efficiency," Klann added.
By locating its plant in southern California, the company will utilize this process to meet the needs of a regional market that has a high demand for ethanol while allaying the onus on cities and municipalities to handle increasing amounts of landfill waste.
"It enhances the economics for the landfill operator," Klann said. "For us, it gives us a cheap source and a credit-worthy feedstock source for our facility so we can finance this project."
The southern California-based cellulosic ethanol facility is a replicable model of a process that can be implemented at several sites across the country, serving the dual purpose of waste management and biofuel production. Klann said BlueFire has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Petro-Diamond Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based fuel marketer, to sell its cellulosic ethanol once it becomes commercially available.
"By this plant going in and being truly the first commercial plant that's under construction converting cellulose to ethanol, this is going to go a long way in meeting the goals and objectives that Congress and the Bush Administration have put in place to get us off imported foreign oil," Klann said. "This is history-making and we're excited because we believe we're going to be building many more of these facilities in the future."
Meanwhile, BlueFire was recently granted a conditional-use permit (CUP) from the County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning to construct an additional biomass waste-to-ethanol facility to be located in Antelope Valley near Lancaster, Calif. The facility is expected to produce approximately 3.2 MMgy of cellulosic ethanol from biomass materials such as woodchips, grass cuttings and other organic fractions.
Klann said that the company plans to break ground either late September or early October, with an anticipated start-up date mid-next year. The plant will also utilize reclaimed water and generate its own electricity and steam from lignin produced as a byproduct of the process.
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August 4, 2008
The County of Los Angeles, Department of Regional Planning has granted BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc., of Irvine, Calif., a conditional-use permit for the construction of the nation's first commercial facility to convert biowaste into ethanol, according to a company press release.
The Los Angeles County Planning Commission approved the use permit for operation of the plant on 10 undeveloped acres near Lancaster, Calif., in the Antelope Valley. BlueFire plans to initiate commercial operation in late 2009.
"We are thrilled to receive this permit," said Arnold Klann, president and chief executive officer, "and we see this construction of our first cellulosic ethanol the United States plant as a catalyst for the advancement of cellulosic fuel production throughout our nation."
The new facility will use BlueFire's commercially-ready, patented and proven Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology Process. This will allow the profitable conversion of cellulosic waste into as much as 3.2 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year. Derived from non-foodstock urban, forestry and agricultural residues, this form of ethanol is completely renewable and highly-economical.
BlueFire Ethanol selected the Lancaster location because an estimated 170 tons of biowaste material, including woodchips, grass cuttings and other organic waste, already passes by the property every day. The plant is designed to use reclaimed water and lignin, a byproduct of the production process, in order to produce its own electricity and steam.
"By locating biorefineries directly in the markets with the highest demand for ethanol, our technology can also help surrounding cities manage landfill waste, solving two problems for the price of one," added Klann.
As part of a strategy to control costs and accelerate production at the Lancaster facility, BlueFire Ethanol has already implemented production of pre-assembled modules that will comprise the Lancaster biorefinery.
BlueFire Ethanol is also one of six ethanol companies awarded $40 million funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for its construction of a larger ethanol production facility using cellulosic wastes diverted from landfills in Southern California. The facility will produce approximately 17 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year from green waste, wood waste and other cellulosic urban wastes
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1-8-2008
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. closed $15 million in financing for corporate overhead and continued project development with Quercus, an environmentally focused trust.
On December 14, 2007, BlueFire entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement whereby Quercus Trust acquired shares of common stock and warrants for total proceeds of $15,000,000. The complete terms of the agreement are detailed in the Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 17, 2007. The financing enabled BlueFire to convert its outstanding senior secured convertible notes held by Aurarian Capital Partners and Aurarian Capital Ltd into common stock.
"BlueFire is very excited to have the Quercus Trust as a strategic investor in our company and we applaud the Quercus Trust's continued commitment to invest in the companies that provide environmentally sound solutions for today's global issues," said Arnold Klann, President and Chief Executive Officer of BlueFire Ethanol. "This investment will provide us with the capital liquidity that we need to continue to execute our business plan and will help bring America one step closer to becoming energy independent."
BlueFire Ethanol is one of six ethanol companies awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for its planned ethanol production facility using cellulosic wastes diverted from landfills in Southern California. The facility will produce approximately 17 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year from green waste, wood waste and other cellulosic urban wastes.
In addition, BlueFire is also in the process of obtaining all necessary permits to commence construction of a smaller facility near Lancaster, California. The Lancaster plant will produce 3.1 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year from the cellulosic fraction of post-sorted municipal solid waste. By locating biorefineries directly in the markets with the highest demand for ethanol, BlueFire Ethanol's technology can also help cities manage landfill waste --solving two problems for the price of one.
"We have made significant progress in our efforts to build the first cellulose-to-ethanol facility in California. This facility will be a catalyst for cellulosic fuel production throughout our nation and will provide the first building block in generating the 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol per year that were outlined in the recently passed Energy Bill," stated Klann.
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11/13/07. BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. (OTCBB: BFRE) CEO Arnold R. Klann will discuss BlueFire's patented, proven technology to profitably convert urban green waste destined for landfills to ethanol at the upcoming Bank of America Energy Conference at The Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, FL, on Friday, November 16, in a panel discussion at 11:25 a.m. and for an individual presentation at 1:25 p.m.
The conference will bring senior executives from more than 80 leading energy companies including BP p.l.c., ConocoPhillips, Evergreen Solar, Inc., Halliburton Company, Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Tesoro Corporation Inc. to speak directly to top institutional investors.
"We are pleased that Bank of America is recognizing the value of BlueFire Ethanol's ground-breaking work over the past 15 years by inviting us to present alongside some of the largest and most established leaders in the energy industry," said BlueFire Ethanol CEO Arnold Klann. "This is a testament to the success of our efforts in deploying BlueFire's proprietary technology that uses a broad array of low-cost cellulosic waste feedstocks to make economically viable and environmentally friendly cellulosic ethanol."
As one of six awardees in the U.S. Department of Energy's program to increase the use of renewable and alternative fuels, BlueFire will receive $40MM as part of the $385MM grant program. The agreement with the DOE equips BlueFire Ethanol with funding for a commercial ethanol production facility using materials diverted from landfills and designed to demonstrate the economic feasibility and environmental superiority of producing ethanol from cellulosic waste materials. BlueFire was also awarded a $1MM grant from the California Energy Commission.
Most recently BlueFire was one of sixteen pre-applicants, out of a total of 143, to submit a formal application under the loan guarantee program which will provide federal loan guarantees for clean energy projects and is expected to spur further investment in these advanced energy technologies.
BlueFire's roll out strategy is to place bio-refineries on or near landfills, thereby utilizing the incoming cellulosic stream as feedstock and alleviating any food vs. fuel issues. By locating bio-refineries directly in the markets with the highest demand for ethanol, BlueFire Ethanol's technology can also help cities manage landfill waste and prevent long-haul ethanol transportation issues.
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