BlueFire Renewables Receives Unprecedented Export-Import Bank of China Letter of Intent to Provide Debt Financing for a U.S. Bio-Energy Project

(Globe Newswire/BlueFire Renewables) BlueFire's Mississippi Fulton Project Paves the Way for Other U.S./China Renewable Energy Projects
BlueFire Renewables, Inc. (OTC:BFRE), a company focused on changing the world's transportation fuel paradigm through the production of renewable fuels, announced that it has received a Letter of Intent from The Export Import Bank of China (China EXIM) to provide up to $270 million in debt financing for its bio-energy project in Fulton, Mississippi.
China EXIM's interest in providing substantial financing to BlueFire is unprecedented and significant for the U.S. renewable energy sector and for U.S. renewable energy small businesses. Particularly in the capital-intensive energy industry, small businesses like BlueFire struggle to access capital amidst tightening credit markets in the U.S. since the financial crisis beginning in 2009.
"This is a significant feat, not just for BlueFire as it also provides a model for the U.S. small business community because it is a strong indication of China's commitment to support and fund U.S. renewable energy technologies to improve the environment and build a strong foundation for cooperation between China and the U.S. in the field of renewable energy," stated Arnold Klann, CEO of BlueFire Renewables, Inc.
"There are significant opportunities for replicating the BlueFire Fulton size or larger facilities in China and the U.S. to deal with problematic agricultural and urban waste currently being burned or buried," Klann said. "Debt financing has been the most difficult part of the financing to obtain for the cellulosic biofuels industry. BlueFire's business model and relationships with China EXIM will set the standard for future debt financing arrangements and could be the spark that leads to the more beneficial use of cellulosic wastes in the bio-fuels industry in the U.S. and China. We are cracking the code when it comes to striking a win-win business deal for China, the U.S. and energy consumers."
Klann said that BlueFire has been working with China EXIM in response to the China Strategic and Economic Dialogue with the U.S., which encourages U.S./China cooperation in the renewable energy field. Due to the difficulty in obtaining financing for capital-intensive energy projects, many renewable energy projects do not get past the pilot phase and into the full commercial development stage. Dozens of renewable energy projects in the U.S. are languishing because of the debt-financing problem and the BlueFire solution could be the path to commercialization for many of these projects.
Because Loan Guarantee programs offered by U.S. Federal agencies (the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture) were not structured for small businesses, the BlueFire/China EXIM framework with major Chinese companies will open the door for more businesses in the U.S. to finance and build projects, not only in the U.S., but in China.
The Letter of Intent continues the international collaboration between U.S. and China initiated by BlueFire. "Combining the already announced engineering and project management contract with China Three Gorges, which is China's largest utility, and now the addition of funding intended by the China EXIM Bank, both countries can work on the sustainable production of renewable fuels and chemicals while promoting jobs and the use of domestic and readily available biomass resources," said Klann.
The companies will continue to work together to complete the standard due diligence procedures of the China EXIM bank and meet all credit criteria and condition precedent to reach definitive agreements in order to complete the financing as soon as possible. Once completed, China Three Gorges Corporation and its U.S. subcontractors will begin construction of the Fulton Project.
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.
About BlueFire Renewables, Inc.
BlueFire Renewables, Inc. was established to deploy the Arkenol patented and proven Concentrated Acid Hydrolysis Technology Process for the profitable conversion of cellulosic waste materials ("Green Waste") to renewable fuel sources. BlueFire has demonstrated production of Biofuels from urban trash (post-sorted MSW), rice and wheat straws, wood waste and other agricultural residues.
BlueFire was awarded a 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.
About The Export-Import Bank of China
The Export-Import Bank of China is one of three institutional banks in China chartered to implement the state policies in industry, foreign trade, diplomacy, the economy, and provide policy financial support so as to promote the export of Chinese products and services. It was established in 1994 and has a focus to promote foreign trade and investment as well as development assistance through concessional funding and other types of financing. Its main areas of business are energy, infrastructure, telecom, mining, and industrial sectors. READ MORE