Emerald, Fulcrum, Red Rock win US govt contracts for biofuel plants

Sep 22, 2014 - The US government on Friday awarded contracts to Emerald Biofuels, Fulcrum BioEnergy and Red Rock Biofuels to construct plants with the combined annual capacity to produce over 100 million gallons (379 million litres) of drop-in biofuels.

The contracts were awarded by the US Departments of Navy, Energy and Agriculture.

The output of the three biorefineries will be used for the transportation needs of the military and private sector. Fuel production is expected to start in 2016 and 2017, with fuel prices seen to be competitive with their petroleum counterparts.

More specifically, Emerald Biofuels will construct a refinery with a capacity of 82 million gallons per year on the Gulf Coast. The facility will run on waste fats. Meanwhile, Fulcrum BioEnergy will build a 10-million-gallon refinery in Nevada, which will be powered with municipal solid waste. Fulcrum already secured a USD-105-million (EUR 82m) loan guarantee from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) earlier this month.

Last but not least, Red Rock Biofuels will construct a 12-million-gallon plant in Oregon that will use woody biomass as feedstock.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.777)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!