IRVINE, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 3, 2007 -- On December 29th, 2006, BlueFire Ethanol, Inc. (Other OTC:BFRE.PK - News) submitted a response to the U.S. Department of Energy's invitation for pre-application for Loan Guarantees for Innovative Technologies Under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Under this submittal, BlueFire proposed the construction of a biorefinery adjacent to existing biomass power plants to take advantage of cost savings using existing infrastructure. One such site included the Colmac facility in Riverside County.

In August of 2006, U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Secretary, Samuel W. Bodman unveiled the DOE program guidelines for a total of $2 billion in loan guarantees to help spur investment in projects that employ new energy technologies. "With these loan guarantees we hope to encourage creativity and ingenuity that will help us strengthen our nation's energy security," Secretary Bodman said.

According to the DOE, loan guarantees will enable the Department to share some of the financial risks of projects that employ emerging or significantly improved energy technologies that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Projects supported by loan guarantees will help fulfill President Bush's goals to diversifying the United States' energy sources, while reducing the nation's reliance on foreign sources of energy and encourage energy efficiency. The loan guarantee program was authorized in Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) that President Bush signed into law on August 8, 2005.

This co-location strategy provides competitive advantage in the marketplace for BlueFire's production facilities. "Locating ethanol production facilities adjacent to biomass power plants allows for more efficient, clean and reliable approach to generating power and thermal energy from on-site facilities. Heat that is otherwise discarded from conventional power generation could be used to produce the thermal energy for the ethanol plant," said CEO Arnold Klann.

In order to receive regular updates on BFRE please click on the following link: http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1437&to=ea&s=0