DOE approves BlueFire Ethanol’s application

FULTON — BlueFire Ethanol Fuels Inc. announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has determined that BlueFire Ethanol has met the requirements necessary for Phase I of the application process and that the company has been invited to continue on to Phase II for the financing of its Fulton project.

The loan guarantee pursuant to this program would support the construction of BlueFire’s commercial (cellulosic) biofuels plant planned in Fulton. Under this program BlueFire has requested $250 million, which would be combined with the previously awarded $88-million grant and other resources to provide sufficient capital for the project’s construction and launch of the facility.

The Fulton facility will produce 19 million gallons of ethanol per year from woody biomass, mill residue and other cellulosic waste.

Arnold Klann, CEO of California-based BlueFire, said, “It’s going to take programs like the DOE loan guarantee to enable first-of-its-kind technologies to be in a position to secure the necessary funding to move forward and help provide cleaner energy sources to the fuel market.”

To help facilitate the closing of this financing, BlueFire Ethanol is actively recruiting specialists to close the transaction.

“We are currently evaluating all options and seeking strategic personnel to help BlueFire successfully close the financing for the Fulton facility and other future facilities,” said Klann.