New year, new milestones for BlueFire Renewables

2010 was a busy year for US-based biofuels company BlueFire Renewables.

The company first rebranded itself in order to clearly communicate its capabilities within the entire renewable energy sector. Today BlueFire can produce a number of different biofuels, including ethanol, biodiesel and biojet fuel, in addition to other drop-in fuels.

November saw the newly branded BlueFire Renewables’ Fulton, Mississippi project break ground after permitting was completed earlier that month.

BlueFire secured three major contracts in order to help finance the Fulton project. The first was the 15-year feedstock supply contract with Cooper Marine Timberlands. Offtake was secured with a 15-year contract with Tenaska Biofuels. Mastec and BlueFire then signed a turnkey construction contract.

The company improved its cash position by raising capital in December when it sold a 1% membership interest in the Fulton plant, with an assessed value of $1.061 million (€0.81 million), for a 25% discounted purchase price of $750,000. This transaction sets a foundation for the company to build on for raising the additional equity to construct the facility at the project level. The company maintains a 99% ownership interest in the project.

BlueFire will combine equity raised at the project level with one of the loan guarantees it expects to secure, from either the US Department of Agriculture or the US Department of Energy, allowing for further development and construction of the Fulton project.

The company is now setting its sights on even more significant milestones for 2011.