Bluefire Renewables, Inc. (fka BFRE)

[trader_long]

Old news reiterated again recently.


http://itawambatimes.com/2014/03/26/department-energy-pulls-bluefire-funding/

Department of Energy pulls BlueFire funding

by Adam Armour | 7:00 am | March 26, 2014 | Itawamba County, News
* The company, which is planning to construct a $300 million plant in Fulton, is appealing the decision.

BlueFire Renewables is appealing a decision to pull federal funding for its $300 million Fulton cellulose plant.

As first reported in several major energy and biofuel trade publications, the U.S. Department of Energy has withdrawn its support for the biofuels company’s $300 million Fulton plant, slated for the beginning stages of construction by August to meet a 2015 completion date.

The funding represented an $88 million investment in the plant, which will be designed to produce approximately 19 million gallons of ethanol per year and employ between 70 and 80 people.

The plant’s remaining funds come from a number of private sources and business partnerships.

The news stems from a Dec. 23, 2013, filing of Form 8-K with United States Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the company states that it received notification that it would lose its funding through the DOE because of its “inability to comply with certain deadlines related to providing certain information to the DOE with respect to [BlueFire Renewables} future financing arrangements for the Fulton Project.”

Form 8-K is a common form used to notify investors of important events and changes in the company’s structure or funding. Significant events like the changing of a company’s CEO, modifications to shareholder rights or a declaration of bankruptcy are required to be accompanied by a filing of Form 8-K with the SEC.

In the form, the company states its intention to appeal the DOE’s decision and reestablish funding under the DOE grant.

“[BlueFire Renewables] shall exhaust all options available to it in order to reverse the DOE’s decision,” the company’s statement reads, although it also states that they “cannot make any assurances that the DOE’s decision will be reversed on appeal or that such an appeal will be heard at all.”

The form states that if the appeal is denied, BlueFire Renewables will devise a new strategy and seek other avenues for funding the Fulton project.

Since it was first announced in 2009, BlueFire Renewables’ planned Fulton cellulose plant has gone through a series of delays, leading many to speculate that the project may be floundering. Local officials have denied the project’s death, though admitted that the company has faced some troubles recently. The site, located on Access Road, is basically ready for construction, and has been since 2011.

The company continues to invest money in the Fulton project, including the partial funding of recent prep work for the site, plus work at the port that will be utilized by the plant once it’s up and running.

BlueFire also pays the county a monthly lease on the site. This “long-term lease” will continue through 2015.

Earlier this year, Itawamba County Supervisor Eric Hughes and ICDC Executive Director Greg Deakle, who serves as the company’s primary local contact, traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with representatives with the U.S. Department of Energy about the progress of the project. Deakle has previously stated that he remains in close contact with representatives of BlueFire Renewables,

Deakle was unable to be contacted in time for the publication of this article.

Ethanol production — which involves fermenting raw materials for their sugar to create an alcohol that can replace petroleum-based fuels — is still a relatively new technology, so the construction of a large ethanol refinery might be expected to take longer than those involving established technologies. Large projects tend to lumber rather than sprint, he said. Deakle has previously stated that the average time from site selection to “up-and-running” is two years or so. Complications can, however, extend this length.

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