BlueFire Renewables contracts with MasTec for US$296M to engineer, construct cellulosic ethanol plant in Fulton, Mississippi, that will use regional wood, green wastes to produce about 19 million gallons/year

Rachel Carter

IRVINE, California , October 5, 2010 (press release) – BlueFire Renewables, Inc., a company focused on changing the world's transportation fuel paradigm through the production of renewable fuels from non-food cellulosic wastes, announced that it has finalized and signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for its planned cellulosic ethanol facility in Fulton, MS. The facility will be engineered and built by Wanzek Construction, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of MasTec, Inc. for a fixed price of $296 million which includes an approximately $100 million biomass power plant as part of the facility.

The contract is negotiated in a manner to be appealing for non-recourse project bank financing and, more importantly, serves as the final key project contract agreement to move forward with both the DOE and USDA Loan Guarantee Programs.

"Having recently announced off-take and feedstock agreements for our Fulton, Mississippi plant, BlueFire Renewables has now satisfied all stated requirements to move forward on an agreement with either the DOE or USDA for a loan guarantee to complete financing of the project," stated Arnold Klann, CEO of BlueFire Renewables, Inc. "BlueFire now stands poised to finalize the government negotiations and affect the financing and construction of this commercial-sized cellulosic ethanol plant."

"We are excited about our involvement in the Fulton project with BlueFire Renewables and look forward to a long-term relationship. BlueFire's proprietary technologies, which convert non-food cellulosic waste into fuel, should bring environmentally friendly facilities and increased long-term employment to the State of Mississippi. We are glad to be a part of the initial roll-out and we look forward to working with BlueFire on a number of other opportunities," noted Jose Mas, MasTec, Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer.

This contract is a home run for BlueFire and for the industry. What MasTec and BlueFire have created and achieved with this contract sets the framework for many other BlueFire projects to be built with certainty.

The Fulton, MS project will allow BlueFire to utilize green and wood wastes available in the region as feedstock for the ethanol plant that is designed to produce approximately 19-million gallons of ethanol per year.

Source: Blue Fire Renewables Inc.
Tags: Biofuel | BlueFire | MasTec | Renewable Fuels | Cellulosic ethanol

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