Mesa County, Colorado, Next Energy Capital of America

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - July 26, 2016 - PRLog -- Today, the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved General Synfuels International, Inc. (GSI) to join the Rural Jump-Start Tax Credit Program in Mesa County, Colo., which offers businesses and their employees a tax break for up to eight years. GSI is the second Jump-Start business to offer a new environmentally sound technology for oil shale extraction, and the third energy technology company to join the program.

"It's fantastic to see the energy industry growing again in Mesa County," said Kristi Pollard, executive director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, an economic development organization in Mesa County that helps businesses apply for the Jump-Start tax credit program. "The county has a long history in energy but we did lose many businesses in the last recession, when energy prices dropped and jobs moved oversees. The Jump-Start tax credit program is not only bringing energy business back to Mesa County, but creating a hub here for innovation and green technology in the energy space."

GSI has developed a patented, environmentally friendly, energy-self-sustaining and economically attractive process to recover oil and gas products from oil shale. Although in operation since 2008, GSI was in a holding pattern until the Jump-Startprogram offered an opportunity to better fund the development of this new technology.

"GSI has been afforded an opportunity with the Jump-Start program to launch our potential game-changing process for the development of oil shale gasification technologies," said Dave Kanuch, GSI Vice President and Chief Engineer. "GSI will use the program and its benefits to attract local technical and environmental expertise to support the program. We are excited about this opportunity in Grand Junction and look forward to working with Colorado Mesa University and expanding our overall business efforts in the community".

GSI joins Qmast LLC, a startup approved for the Jump-Start program last month. Qmast has developed a revolutionary and environmentally sound technology for the removal of hydrocarbons from oil shale, tar sands, tight shales, and conventional oil and gas reservoirs using a High Power Microwave (HPM) system. The company is currently expanding on the success of its initial prototype system and plans on hiring over 350 people at its Grand Junction facility over the next five years.

Rounding out the Jump-Start energy trifecta is ProStar Geocorp, a company that provides geospatial intelligence through its hybrid cloud technology solutions to the pipeline and utility industries. All three companies are located in Grand Junction, Colo.

In addition to the three energy technology companies, Jump-Start Mesa County has approved four more companies:

-     * Colorado Clean, a manufacturer of a first-of-its-kind biodegradable plastic;

-       *KAART Group, developers of an open source solution for storing geographic data from remote locations across the globe;

-       *Australian-based TSW Analytical, a global leader in forensics investigation and technology development; and

-       *REBCO Enterprises, which produces the "Hydropot," the world's only ultra-low energy, fully self-contained, soilless growing system that recycles water.

Together, the 7 businesses are anticipated to bring over 550 jobs to Mesa County by year-end 2020 - each with higher salary expectations than the average annual salary of the state.

Learn more at http://gjep.org/jump-start-mesa-county-home-2/.