BlueFire bringing ethanol plant

by Wally Northway

Published: October 16,2009

Tags: energy, environment, manufacturing

FULTON — BlueFire Ethanol Fuels Inc. of Irvine, Calif., has unveiled plans for a strategic relocation of its second planned biorefinery to Fulton.

After having been awarded a $40-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a second planned facility in California, BlueFire began development and licensing work to build their second biorefinery plant in 2007.

“Navigating the development and licensing process in California in a time-effective manner coupled with the challenging business climate in the state convinced BlueFire to petition the DOE for a site change to Mississippi,” said Arnold Klann, BlueFire’s president and CEO. “We determined the Fulton site located in northeastern Mississippi was best suited to fulfill our requirements for our second biorefinery plant after studying various locations in several states over the past year.”

The Fulton 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 receiving funding under the $40-million DOE grant for the development of the plant.

BlueFire has completed a 20-month licensing process and is currently awaiting the final financing needed to break ground on a shovel-ready, fully-permitted ethanol biorefinery in Lancaster, Calif. 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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