BlueFire Shifts Cellulosic Ethanol Project to Mississippi; Taxes, Timing Issues in Move from California
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In California, cellulosic ethanol pioneer BlueFire Ethanol Fuels announced strategic relocation of its second planned biorefinery to Fulton, Mississippi. After having been awarded a $40 million dollar grant from the DOE for a second planned facility in California, BlueFire Ethanol, in 2007, began development and licensing work to build their second biorefinery plant utilizing the company’s concentrated acid hydrolysis process for conversion of post-sorted MSW), rice and wheat straws, wood waste and other agricultural residues to ethanol. The economic problems in California were another problem. The state increased the sales taxes associated with the Mecca project by $1 million. For a “first of kind” technology project, it’s tough, and we asked for some consideration because of the nature of the project. But the state was unable to assist. READ MORE
