Fiscal Cliff Bill Extends Tax Credits, Energizes Biodiesel Industry

GOLDEN, Colo., Jan. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- When the House of Representatives passed the "Fiscal Cliff" bill late Tuesday evening, the biodiesel industry was watching. The bill included an extension of the federal biodiesel blenders tax credit for 2013, and a retroactive extension for 2012. Blue Sun noted that for many companies in the industry the bill provides not only certainty moving forward, but provides critical capital for biodiesel producers.

For some in the industry, the retroactive tax credit provides a valuable opportunity to reinvest in the future.

"Blue Sun will immediately invest payments from credits earned in 2012 to advance our next generation biofuel technologies," said Leigh Freeman, CEO of Blue Sun. "We'll use this opportunity to meet the intent of incentive programs such as the biodiesel tax credit and fully commercialize our emerging technologies to better the industry."

Blue Sun capital investments include launching a new enzymatic processing technology that will reduce net production costs by over 90 cents per gallon and will allow the Blue Sun refinery to process a wide range of non-food feedstocks.

"Blue Sun thanks Congress for including such important legislation in the bill. Supporting new and growing industries like alternative energy is a key role our government can play in keeping the U.S. the dominant player in business and technology worldwide. This support provides stability, which in turn creates certainty for our investors current and future," said Mr. Freeman.

Blue Sun noted that federal support like the biodiesel blenders tax credit works efficiently with private alternative energy investment in the commercialization of advanced technologies.

Blue Sun has created over 30 new jobs and employs 50 people, with the majority supporting the new technology implementation at the St. Joseph, Missouri biodiesel production facility.

About Blue Sun
Blue Sun is a technology commercialization company specializing in acquiring and proving promising research breakthroughs in the field of liquid transportation fuels and bringing them to commercial production. The current focus of Blue Sun is in the application and commercialization of advanced technologies in the alternative fuels industry to build near and long-term competitive advantage with a target of producing low-cost, consistently high-quality fuel from non-food feed stocks. Blue Sun's ultimate goal is to reduce production costs to allow commercial production without government support. Current projects in this area include renewable diesel technology development; military bio-jet fuels; plant technology upgrades at the Blue Sun St. Joe Refinery; and the acquisition of first generation biodiesel facilities to upgrade using advanced Blue Sun technology.

Blue Sun has been a leader in the biodiesel industry since 2001. In 2003, to address the lack of quality standards, Blue Sun developed the first biodiesel fuel specification, which continues to exceed the ASTM standard. That same year, in response to market uncertainty about biodiesel, Blue Sun launched the first branded biodiesel, Fusion™, setting the standard for quality and customer expectations in the industry. Blue Sun operates the 30 million gallon per year Blue Sun St. Joe Refinery and maintains a multi-million gallon terminal position in Knoxville, Tennessee. For more information, please visit http://www.gobluesun.com.

Contact: Blue Sun, Steve Bond, Tel: 303-865-7700

Downloads and photos at http://gobluesun.com/main/news/010313-release.php

SOURCE Blue Sun