SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

9 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Dec. 31, 2010

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Management’s Plans

The Company is a development-stage company which has incurred losses since inception. Management has funded operations primarily through proceeds received in connection with the reverse merger, loans from its majority shareholder, the private placement of the Company's common stock in December 2007 for net proceeds of approximately $14,500,000, the issuance of convertible notes with warrants in July and in August 2007, and U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") reimbursements throughout 2009, 2010, and the first nine months of 2011. The Company may encounter difficulties in establishing operations due to the time frame of developing, constructing and ultimately operating the planned bio-refinery projects.

As of September 30, 2011, the Company had a negative working capital of approximately $926,000. Management has estimated that operating expenses for the next 12 months will be approximately $1,800,000, excluding engineering costs related to the development of bio-refinery projects. These matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. For the remainder of 2011, the Company intends to fund its operations with reimbursements under the Department of Energy contract, from the sale of Fulton Project equity ownership, from the sale of debt or equity instruments, and our equity purchase agreement consummated with LPC in January 2011 (as discussed herein). The Company's ability to get reimbursed on the DOE contract is dependent on the availability of cash to pay for the related costs. As of November 11, 2011, the Company expects the current resources, as well as the resources available in the short term under the LPC Purchase Agreement, will only be sufficient for a period of approximately one month, depending upon certain funding conditions contained herein, unless significant additional financing is received. Management has determined that general expenditures must be reduced and additional capital will be required in the form of equity or debt securities. In addition, if we cannot raise additional short term capital we will be forced to continue to further accrue liabilities due to our limited cash reserves. There are no assurances that management will be able to raise capital on terms acceptable to the Company. If we are unable to obtain sufficient amounts of additional capital, we may be required to reduce the scope of our planned development, which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from these uncertainties.

Additionally, the Company’s Lancaster plant is currently shovel ready and only requires minimal capital to maintain applicable permits until funding is obtained for the construction. The preparation for the construction of this plant was the primary capital use in 2009. In October 2010, BlueFire filed the necessary paperwork to extend this project’s permits for an additional year while we await potential financing. The company has until the end of 2011 to extend this project’s permits an additional year while we await potential financing.The Company sees this project on hold until we receive the funding to construct the facility.

In June 2011 it was determined that the Company had received an overpayment of approximately $354,000 from the cumulative reimbursements of the DOE grants under Award 1. The Company and DOE tentatively agreed to net overpayments with monies still available to the Company of approximately $366,000 under Award 1 in order to further its completion. While the above terms have been tentatively agreed to, the method and process in which the matter is resolved is still in process. Based on information provided in Note 3, the Company has not accrued any amounts in the accompanying financial statements. If demand for payment were to be made by the DOE, our cash flow intended for operations would be negatively effected.

As of December 31, 2010, the Company completed the detailed engineering on our proposed Fulton Project, procured all necessary permits for construction of the plant, and began site clearing and preparation work, signaling the beginning of construction.

As of September 30, 2011, the Fulton Project site prep work has been done, and the project is awaiting further funds for construction.

The Company was notified by its lender in October 2011 (the “Lender”) for the Company’s United States Department of Agriculture (the “USDA”) loan guarantee application that the USDA sent the Lender notice that they are currently ineligible to participate in the USDA Biorefinery Assistance Program. The USDA has offered to meet with the Lender and the Company in order to provide further explanation as to its decision and to allow the Lender and the Company the opportunity to provide any new information and potential alternatives for the USDA’s consideration.

The Company plans to continue to work with the USDA and the Lender in order to satisfy the loan guarantee application requirements which may include the substitution of another lender. However, due to the USDA’s initial rejection, the Company wrote-off all associated debt issuance costs to general and administrative expense, amounting to $309,834 in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations for the three and nine-months ended September 30, 2011.

We estimate the total construction cost of the bio-refineries to be in the range of approximately $300 million for the Fulton Project and approximately $100 million to $125 million for the Lancaster Biorefinery. These cost approximations do not reflect any decrease in raw materials or any savings in construction cost that might be realized by the weak world economic environment. The Company is currently in discussions with potential sources of financing for these facilities but no definitive agreements are in place.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Certain information and disclosures normally included in the annual financial statements prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the Unites States of America have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. In the opinion of management, all adjustments and disclosures necessary for a fair presentation of these financial statements have been included. Such adjustments consist of normal recurring adjustments. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2010. The results of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of BlueFire Renewables, Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiary, BlueFire Ethanol, Inc., BlueFire Ethanol Lancaster, LLC and BlueFire Fulton Renewable Energy LLC (excluding 1% interest sold) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of BlueFire Ethanol, Inc. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported periods. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

Project Development

Project development costs include the research and development expenses related to the Company's future cellulose-to-ethanol production facilities. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, and for the period from March 28, 2006 (Inception) to September 30, 2011, research and development costs included in Project Development expense were approximately $158,000, $241,000, $429,000, $957,000 and $18,764,000 respectively.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is defined as the exchange price, or the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants as of the measurement date. Applicable accounting guidance also establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability. There are three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1. Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets;

Level 2. Inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly; and

Level 3. Unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions.

As of September 30, 2011, the Company’s warrant liability is considered a level 2 item, see Note 4.

Income (loss) per Common Share

The Company presents basic income (loss) per share (“EPS”) and diluted EPS on the face of the consolidated statements of operations. Basic income (loss) per share is computed as net income (loss) divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur from common shares issuable through stock options, warrants, and other convertible securities.

As of September 30, 2011, the Company had 3,287,159 options and 6,886,694 warrants outstanding, for which all of the exercise prices were in excess of the average closing price of the Company’s common stock during the corresponding three and nine-month period then ended, and thus no shares are considered dilutive under the treasury stock method of accounting as of September 30, 2010. For the three and nine-months ended September 30, 2010 the applicable options and warrants were excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share as their effects would have been anti-dilutive due to the loss.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost. The Company’s fixed assets are depreciated using the straight-line method over a period ranging from one to five years, except land which is not depreciated. Maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred. Significant renewals and betterments are capitalized. At the time of retirement or other disposition of property and equipment, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in operations. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company began to capitalize costs in connection with the construction of its Fulton plant. A portion of these costs are reimbursed under the DOE grant discussed in Note 3. Reimbursements received for capitalized costs are treated as a reduction of those costs.

Redeemable - Noncontrolling Interest

Redeemable interest held by third parties in subsidiaries owned or controlled by the Company is reported on the consolidated balance sheets outside permanent equity. All noncontrolling interest reported in the consolidated statements of operations reflects the respective interests in the income or loss after income taxes of the subsidiaries attributable to the other parties, the effect of which is removed from the net income or loss available to the Company. The Company accretes the redemption value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest over the estimated redemption period. As of September 30, 2011 the Company has accreted the full redemption value.

NOTE 2 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Management’s Plans

The Company is a development-stage company which has incurred losses since inception. Management has funded operations primarily through proceeds received in connection with the reverse merger, loans from its majority shareholder, the private placement of the Company's common stock in December 2007 for net proceeds of approximately $14,500,000, the issuance of convertible notes with warrants in July and in August 2007, and Department of Energy reimbursements throughout 2009 and 2010. The Company may encounter difficulties in establishing operations due to the time frame of developing, constructing and ultimately operating the planned bio-refinery projects.

As of December 31, 2010, the Company has working capital of approximately $39,000. Management has estimated that operating expenses for the next 12 months will be approximately $1,800,000, excluding engineering costs related to the development of bio-refinery projects. These matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Throughout the remainder of 2011, the Company intends to fund its operations with reimbursements under the Department of Energy contract, draw downs on the equity commitment the Company received from Lincoln Park Capital in January 2011, as well as seek additional funding in the form of equity or debt. As of March 31, 2011, the Company expects the current resources available to them will only be sufficient for a period of approximately two months unless significant cost cutting measures are taken. Management has determined that these general expenditures must be reduced and additional capital will be required in the form of equity or debt securities. In addition, if we cannot raise additional short term capital we may consume all of our cash reserved for operations. There are no assurances that management will be able to raise capital on terms acceptable to the Company. If we are unable to obtain sufficient amounts of additional capital, we may be required to reduce the scope of our planned development, which could harm our business, financial condition and operating results. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from these uncertainties.

Additionally, the Company’s Lancaster plant is currently shovel ready and only requires minimal capital to maintain until funding is obtained for the construction. The preparation for the construction of this plant was the primary capital use in 2009. In October 2010, BlueFire filed the necessary paperwork to extend this project’s permits for an additional year while we await potential financing. In 2011, the Company sees this project on hold until we receive the funding to construct the facility.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of BlueFire Renewables, Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiary, BlueFire Ethanol, Inc. BlueFire Ethanol Lancaster, LLC and BlueFire Fulton Renewable Energy LLC (excluding 1% interest sold) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of BlueFire Ethanol, Inc. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

Debt Issuance Costs

Debt issuance costs are capitalized and amortized over the term of the debt using the effective interest method, or expensed upon conversion or extinguishment when applicable. Costs are capitalized for amounts incurred in connection with proposed financings. In the event the financing related to the capitalized cost is not successful, the costs are immediately expensed (see Note 5).

Cash and Cash Equivalents

For purpose of the statement of cash flows, the Company considers all highly liquid debt instruments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are reported net of allowance for expected losses. It represents the amount management expects to collect from outstanding balances. Differences between the amount due and the amount management expects to collect are charged to operations in the year in which those differences are determined, with an offsetting entry to a valuation allowance. As of December 31, 2010 and 2009, there have been no such charges.

Intangible Assets

License fees acquired are either expensed or recognized as intangible assets. The Company recognizes intangible assets when the following criteria is met: 1) the asset is identifiable, 2) the Company has control over the asset, 3) the cost of the asset can be measured reliably, and 4) it is probable that economic benefits will flow to the Company. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company purchased a license (see Note 10) from Arkenol, Inc., a related party. The license fee was expensed because the Company is still in the research and development stage and cannot readily determine the probability of future economic benefits for said license.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost. The Company’s fixed assets are depreciated using the straight-line method over a period ranging from one to five years, except land which is not depreciated. Maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred. Significant renewals and betterments are capitalized. At the time of retirement or other disposition of property and equipment, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in operations. During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company began to capitalize costs in connection with the construction of its Fulton plant. A portion of these costs were reimbursed under the Department of Energy grant discussed in Note 3. Reimbursements received for capitalized costs were treated as a reduction of those costs.

Revenue Recognition

The Company is currently a developmental-stage company. The Company will recognize revenues from 1) consulting services rendered to potential sub licensees for development and construction of cellulose to ethanol projects, 2) sales of ethanol from its production facilities when (a) persuasive evidence that an agreement exists; (b) the products have been delivered; (c) the prices are fixed and determinable and not subject to refund or adjustment; and (d) collection of the amounts due is reasonably assured.

As discussed in Note 3, the Company received a federal grant from the United States Department of Energy, (“U.S. DOE”). The grant generally provides for payment in connection with related development and construction costs involving commercialization of our technologies. Grant award reimbursements are recorded as either as contra assets or as revenues depending upon whether the reimbursement is for capitalized costs or expenses paid by the Company. Contra capitalized cost and revenues from the grant are recognized in the period during which the conditions under the grant have been met and the Company has made payment for the asset or expense.

Project Development

Project development costs are either expensed or capitalized. The costs of materials and equipment that will be acquired or constructed for project development activities, and that have alternative future uses, both in project development, marketing or sales, will be classified as property and equipment and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. To date, project development costs include the research and development expenses related to the Company's future cellulose-to-ethanol production facilities. During the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 and for the period from March 28, 2006 (Inception) to December 31, 2010, research and development costs included in Project Development were approximately $1,096,653, $1,307,185, and $13,867,000 respectively.

Convertible Debt

Convertible debt is accounted for under the guidelines established by Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 470 “Debt with Conversion and Other Options” and ASC 740 “Beneficial Conversion Features”. The Company records a beneficial conversion feature (“BCF”) related to the issuance of convertible debt that have conversion features at fixed or adjustable rates that are in-the-money when issued and records the fair value of warrants issued with those instruments. The BCF for the convertible instruments is recognized and measured by allocating a portion of the proceeds to warrants and as a reduction to the carrying amount of the convertible instrument equal to the intrinsic value of the conversion features, both of which are credited to paid-in-capital.

The Company calculates the fair value of warrants issued with the convertible instruments using the Black-Scholes valuation method, using the same assumptions used for valuing employee options for purposes of ASC 718 “Compensation – Stock Compensation”, except that the contractual life of the warrant is used. Under these guidelines, the Company allocates the value of the proceeds received from a convertible debt transaction between the conversion feature and any other detachable instruments (such as warrants) on a relative fair value basis. The allocated fair value is recorded as a debt discount or premium and is amortized over the expected term of the convertible debt to interest expense. For a conversion price change of a convertible debt issue, the additional intrinsic value of the debt conversion feature, calculated as the number of additional shares issuable due to a conversion price change multiplied by the previous conversion price, is recorded as additional debt discount and amortized over the remaining life of the debt.

The Company accounts for modifications of its ECF’s in accordance with ASC 470 “Modifications and Exchanges”. ASC 470 requires the modification of a convertible debt instrument that changes the fair value of an embedded conversion feature and the subsequent recognition of interest expense or the associated debt instrument when the modification does not result in a debt extinguishment.

Equity Instruments Issued with Registration Rights Agreement

The Company accounts for these penalties as contingent liabilities, applying the accounting guidance of ASC 450 “Contingencies”. This accounting is consistent with views established by the Emerging Issues Task Force in its consensus set forth in ASC 825 “Financial Instruments”. Accordingly, the Company recognizes damages when it becomes probable that they will be incurred and amounts are reasonably estimable.

In connection with the issuance of common stock on for gross proceeds of $15,500,000 in December 2007 and the $2,000,000 convertible note financing in August 2007, the Company was required to file a registration statement on Form SB-2 or Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to register the resale of the common stock under the Securities Act. The Company filed that registration statement on December 18, 2007 and as required under the registration rights agreement had the registration statement declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 27, 2009 and in so doing incurred no liquidated damages. As of December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company does not believe that any liquidated damages are probable and thus no amounts have been accrued in the accompanying financial statements.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with ASC 740 ”Income Taxes” requires the Company to provide a net deferred tax asset/liability equal to the expected future tax benefit/expense of temporary reporting differences between book and tax accounting methods and any available operating loss or tax credit carry forwards.

This Interpretation sets forth a recognition threshold and valuation method to recognize and measure an income tax position taken, or expected to be taken, in a tax return. The evaluation is based on a two-step approach. The first step requires an entity to evaluate whether the tax position would “more likely than not,” based upon its technical merits, be sustained upon examination by the appropriate taxing authority. The second step requires the tax position to be measured at the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. In addition, previously recognized benefits from tax positions that no longer meet the new criteria would no longer be recognized. The application of this Interpretation will be considered a change in accounting principle with the cumulative effect of the change recorded to the opening balance of retained earnings in the period of adoption. This Interpretation was effective for the Company on January 1, 2007. Adoption of this new standard did not have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

On January 1, 2009, the Company adopted ASC 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”. The Company did not record an adjustment to retained earnings as a result of the adoption of the guidance for fair value measurements, and the adoption did not have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations.

Fair value is defined as the exit price, or the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants as of the measurement date. The guidance also establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability. The guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1. Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets;

Level 2. Inputs, other than the quoted prices in active markets, that are observable either directly or indirectly; and

Level 3. Unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions.

As of December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company’s warrant liability is considered a level 2 item, see Note 6.

Risks and Uncertainties

The Company's operations are subject to new innovations in product design and function. Significant technical changes can have an adverse effect on product lives. Design and development of new products are important elements to achieve and maintain profitability in the Company's industry segment. The Company may be subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations. The Company does not anticipate expenditures to comply with such laws and does not believe that regulations will have a material impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations, or liquidity. The Company believes that its operations comply, in all material respects, with applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

The Company maintains its cash accounts in a commercial bank and in an institutional money-market fund account. The total cash balances held in a commercial bank are secured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to $250,000, although on January 1, 2014 this amount is scheduled to return to $100,000 per depositor, per insured bank. At times, the Company has cash deposits in excess of federally insured limits. In addition, the Institutional Funds Account is insured through the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) up to $500,000 per customer, including up to $100,000 for cash. At times, the Company has cash deposits in excess of federally and institutional insured limits.

As of December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Department of Energy made up 100% of Grant Revenue and Department of Energy grant receivables. Management believes the loss of these organizations would have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

Income (loss) per Common Share

The Company presents basic income (loss) per share (“EPS”) and diluted EPS on the face of the consolidated statement of operations. Basic income (loss) per share is computed as net income (loss) divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur from common shares issuable through stock options, warrants, and other convertible securities. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company had 3,287,159 options and 6,886,694 warrants outstanding, for which all of the exercise prices were in excess of the average closing price of the Company’s common stock during the corresponding year and thus no shares are considered as dilutive under the treasury-stock method of accounting. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company had approximately 3,287,159 options and 6,813,494 warrants, to purchase shares of common stock that were excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share as their effects would have been anti-dilutive due to the loss.

Share-Based Payments

The Company accounts for stock options issued to employees and consultants under ASC 718 “Share-Based Payment”. Under ASC 718, share-based compensation cost to employees is measured at the grant date, based on the estimated fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense over the employee's requisite vesting period.

The Company measures compensation expense for its non-employee stock-based compensation under ASC 505 “Equity”. The fair value of the option issued or committed to be issued is used to measure the transaction, as this is more reliable than the fair value of the services received. The fair value is measured at the value of the Company's common stock on the date that the commitment for performance by the counterparty has been reached or the counterparty's performance is complete. The fair value of the equity instrument is charged directly to stock-based compensation expense and credited to additional paid-in capital.

Redeemable - Noncontrolling Interest

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company regularly evaluates whether events and circumstances have occurred that indicate the carrying amount of property and equipment may not be recoverable. When factors indicate that these long-lived assets should be evaluated for possible impairment, the Company assesses the potential impairment by determining whether the carrying value of such long-lived assets will be recovered through the future undiscounted cash flows expected from use of the asset and its eventual disposition. If the carrying amount of the asset is determined not to be recoverable, a write-down to fair value is recorded. Fair values are determined based on quoted market values, discounted cash flows, or external appraisals, as applicable. The Company regularly evaluates whether events and circumstances have occurred that indicate the useful lives of property and equipment may warrant revision. In our opinion, the carrying values of our long-lived assets, including property and equipment, were not impaired at December 31, 2010.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In January 2010, the FASB amended authoritative guidance for improving disclosures about fair-value measurements. The updated guidance requires new disclosures about recurring or nonrecurring fair-value measurements including significant transfers into and out of Level 1 and Level 2 fair-value measurements and information on purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements on a gross basis in the reconciliation of Level 3 fair-value measurements. The guidance also clarified existing fair-value measurement disclosure guidance about the level of disaggregation, inputs, and valuation techniques. The guidance became effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2009, with an exception for the disclosures of purchases, sales, issuances and settlements on the roll-forward of activity in Level 3 fair-value measurements. Those disclosures will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2010 and for interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on the financial statements.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity.

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