BlueFire Ethanol Fuels of California has been approved to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee program for clean energy projects..

According to a company release, BlueFire Ethanol was recognized for its proposed project to build a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in California using an array of low-cost feedstocks including landfill waste.

“The Department of Energy’s continued encouragement of BlueFire Ethanol’s innovative clean energy technology is a key step toward full-scale commercial production of cellulosic ethanol and a testament to the management team’s work over the past 15 years to deploy an economic cellulosic ethanol technology using an array of low-cost cellulosic waste feedstocks,” said BlueFire Ethanol CEO Arnold Klann.

BlueFire Ethanol holds the exclusive North American license to employ the Arkenol Process Technology, a patented, commercially viable and profitable system that transforms cellulosic waste into usable ethanol. As a result, BlueFire is uniquely positioned to set the industry standard in converting waste materials — such as wood waste, green waste, straw, switchgrass, and corn stover — into ethanol.