BlueFire Renewables, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BFRE), a company focused on changing the world's transportation fuel paradigm through the production of renewable fuels from non-food cellulosic wastes, announced a contract with Cooper Marine & Timberlands to provide feedstock for BlueFire's planned cellulosic ethanol facility in Fulton, MS for a period of up to 15 years.
Under the agreement, Cooper Marine & Timberlands ("CMT") will supply BlueFire's Fulton, Mississippi project with all of the feedstock required to produce approximately 19-million gallons of ethanol per year from locally sourced cellulosic materials such as wood chips, forest residual chips, pre-commercial thinnings and urban wood waste such as construction waste, storm debris, land clearing; or manufactured wood waste from furniture manufacturing.
"This agreement is another significant step forward for BlueFire and we are excited to have CMT's participation in our Fulton Project. Coupled with our recently-announced off-take agreement with Tenaska BioFuels, LLC, the key input and output contracts required for financing are now resolved," stated Arnold Klann, CEO of BlueFire Renewables, Inc. "This is a very exciting time for BlueFire Renewables as we complete the final steps to bringing cellulosic ethanol to fruition in the U.S. marketplace."
Under the Agreement, CMT will pursue a least-cost strategy for feedstock supply made possible by the project site's proximity to feedstock sources and the flexibility of BlueFire's process to use a wide spectrum of cellulosic waste materials in pure or mixed forms.
Cooper Marine Timberlands (CMT), with several chip mills in operation in Mississippi and Alabama, is a member company of Cooper/T. Smith one of America's oldest and largest stevedoring and maritime related firms with operations on all three U.S. coasts and foreign operations in Central and South America.
"Responsible biomass production has an important role to play in improving the state of local economies. We look forward to utilizing our extensive experience in biomass feedstock procurement and logistics in establishing a sustainable biomass feedstock supply chain for BlueFire's Fulton Project," stated Phil Willingham, Executive Vice President of Cooper Marine and Timberlands.
The Fulton, MS project will put to work Mississippi's significant biomass resources to create economic development and job creation in Mississippi. It will establish the platform for developing American energy self-sufficiency from readily available local resources.