Date: August 17, 2010
Source: BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc.
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc. (Irvine, CA), which converts waste into transportation fuels, is rebranding itself as BlueFire Renewables, Inc. BlueFire is developing two cellulosic ethanol refineries in Lancaster, CA, and Fulton, MS. Unlike traditional corn ethanol, which is made from corn kernel sugars, cellulosic ethanol can be made from sugars extracted from corncobs, grass clippings, tree branches and other hearty biomass. The company's 3.9 million gallon per year California refinery is fully permitted and will use waste from Southern California landfills as feedstock. But, financing the $120 million plant has been a challenge amid the economic downturn. Last year the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) guaranteed an $88 million loan to help finance the $350 million 19 million gallon per year Mississippi refinery which could begin construction this year for completion within 18 months. It will use mill residue and other woody biomass as feedstock. BlueFire continues to operate a pilot plant in Orange County, CA.
PRESS RELEASE
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels Rebrands as BlueFire Renewables, Inc.
Name Change Designed to Better Reflect Its Fuel and Energy Production Capabilities
BlueFire Ethanol Fuels, Inc., a company focused on changing the world's transportation fuel paradigm through the production of renewable fuels from non-food cellulosic wastes, today announced that the company has changed its name to BlueFire Renewables, Inc. to more clearly illustrate the company's vast capabilities in renewable energy. BlueFire Renewables will continue to trade as BFRE.OB.
Through its internally-designed and third-party-developed back-end technologies, BlueFire can produce a vast array of other Biofuels, including Biodiesel, BioJet Fuel, Drop-in Directs, and more. As such, the name change and rebranding as a renewable energy company more clearly represents the many applications for which BlueFire's technology can be applied.
As an example, BlueFire has developed relationships with key industry partners, such as Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil production company and leading algal synthetic biology company that has been testing sugars produced through BlueFire's patented process for compatibility with its renewable oil process to produce the oil cost effectively and at scale.
"BlueFire is more than just an ethanol company. We're happy to at last announce the expansion of our capabilities, and feel that this name captures our spirit for innovation and development of cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels," says Arnold Klann, CEO of BlueFire Renewables, Inc. "Our goal with this name change is to demonstrate the company's potential to vertically integrate our technology into other areas of renewable energy and help us avoid the confusion with traditional ethanol producers."
BlueFire Renewables is also currently in the process of developing two cellulosic ethanol facilities in Lancaster, CA and Fulton, MS. The fully-permitted and shovel-ready Lancaster, CA, facility, BlueFire's first U.S. commercial plant, 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. BlueFire is in the detailed engineering phase for its second commercial plant in Fulton, MS, which will produce approximately 19 million gallons of ethanol per year from woody biomass, mill residue, and other cellulosic waste. These two planned facilities will create more than 1,000 construction jobs and, once in operation, more than 100 new operations and maintenance jobs. This is in addition to the hundreds of jobs created or maintained at equipment vendors and suppliers that will be involved in the company's other projects.
BlueFire Renewables recently announced that the Department of Energy has determined that BlueFire has met the requirements necessary for Phase I completion of the application process for its Loan Guarantee and that the company has been invited to continue on to Phase II for the financing of their Fulton, MS Project.
About BlueFire Renewables, Inc.
BlueFire Renewables, Inc. was established to deploy a commercially ready, patented and proven Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology Process for the profitable conversion of cellulosic waste materials ("Green Waste") to renewable fuel sources, including Cellulosic Ethanol, Biodiesel, BioJet Fuel, and Drop-in Directs. BlueFire is the only cellulose-to-fuel company worldwide with demonstrated production of Biofuels from urban trash (post-sorted MSW), rice and wheat straws, wood waste and other agricultural residues.
BlueFire received an increase to its Grant totaling $88 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in December of 2009. BlueFire's biorefineries will be located near markets with high demand for ethanol and will use locally available biomass. This should dramatically reduce delivery costs and increase biofuel supplies, while providing a unique waste processing technology to help America's cities better manage the increasing problem of overflowing landfills. For more information, please visit www.BFREINC.com.
If you would like to receive regular updates on BlueFire Renewables, please select this following link: www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1437&to=ea&s=0.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements about BlueFire Renewables, Inc.'s expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as the term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. BlueFire's actual results could differ materially from expected results. BlueFire undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances. Should events occur which materially affect any comments made within this press release; BlueFire will appropriately inform the public.
This press release includes statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). BlueFire Renewables, Inc. claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the terms "may," "believes," "projects," "expects," or "anticipates," and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to: our successful development and deployment of ethanol production facility or facilities, impact of the company's expansion plan, and new business development success, future financial results, the impact of competitive products or pricing from technological changes, the effect of economic conditions and other uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations contained in any such forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: failure to manage operating expenses or integrate new facilities and/or technologies, each of which could have a material impact on our business, our financial results, and the company's stock price. These risks and other factors are detailed in the Company's regular filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made and BlueFire Renewables, Inc. does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.
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