Enerkem, BlueFire awarded stimulus funding

PONTOTOC and FULTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have selected 19 integrated biorefinery projects to receive up to $564 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate the construction and operation of pilot, demonstration, and commercial scale facilities.

The projects – in 15 states – will validate refining technologies and help lay the foundation for full commercial-scale development of a biomass industry in the United States.  The projects selected will produce advanced biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts using biomass feedstocks at the pilot, demonstration, and full commercial scale.   The projects selected today are part of the ongoing effort to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry and provide new jobs in many rural areas of the country.

In Mississippi, Enerkem Corporation in Pontotoc is receiving a grant of $50 million. The funding will be used at an existing landfill and use feedstocks such as woody biomass removed from municipal solid waste to produce ethanol and other green chemicals through gasification and catalytic processes.

BlueFire Ethanol, LLC, is also receiving a grant of approximately $81.135 million for its proposed plant in Fulton in Northeast Mississippi.