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BIO Congratulates Member Companies Participating in DOE, USDA Loan Guarantee Programs

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Advanced and&nbsp;cellulosic biofuel producers are continuing to make progress in bringing new technologies to commercial scale; federal loan guarantees are&nbsp;helping to mitigate&nbsp;ongoing economic uncertainty.</p>

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 22, 2011) – Federal loan guarantee programs for biorefineries can mitigate uncertainty in capital markets, aiding advanced and cellulosic biofuel producers’ efforts to raise private capital for construction. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today congratulated Abengoa Bioenergy, INEOS New Planet Energy, and POET on receiving commitments for loan guarantees from the Department of Energy and the USDA for construction of pioneering commercial-scale biorefineries.

“Advanced biofuel producers are continuing to make progress in bringing new technologies to commercial scale, despite the economic recession and ongoing economic uncertainty,” stated Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section. “Federal policies are playing a vital role in helping these companies deploy first-of-a-kind technologies by mitigating some of the perceived risk for institutional investors. Construction of biorefineries and a value chain of renewable biomass for advanced biofuels requires large amounts of capital. But ongoing economic uncertainty is keeping capital on the sidelines.

“The USDA and DOE loan guarantees have only recently started providing support through loan guarantee programs adopted several years ago. But in a short time they have helped pioneering companies such as Abengoa Bioenergy, Coskata, Enerkem, Ineos Bio, POET and Sapphire Energy secure private financing for construction. These advanced biofuels biorefineries are already generating jobs in research and development, and they’ll continue to generate jobs in construction, operation, biomass growing and harvesting, and transportation. The advanced biofuel industry is capable of generating hundreds of thousands of such jobs over the next decade, while reducing dependence on foreign energy.”