In the United States (US), Strategic Biofuels LLC, a developer of negative carbon footprint renewable fuels plants, has announced that Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards awarded the company’s Louisiana Green Fuels (LGF) project a US$250 million bond allocation. The bonds will form an integral part of the debt financing for construction costs of the project and be sold into the private market at the final investment decision in early 2023 when construction begins.
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The bonds will form an integral part of the debt financing for construction costs of the project and be sold into the private market at the final investment decision in early 2023 when construction begins.
We are excited about the rapid advancement towards the construction of Strategic Biofuel’s Louisiana Green Fuels project in Caldwell Parish. The project’s negative carbon footprint fuel production continues to keep Louisiana at the forefront of innovation in the renewable fuel industry. Furthermore, it illustrates what is practical and achievable on the path to meet our Climate Initiatives Task Force goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, said Governor Edwards.
According to the company, LGF will “affordably and sustainably” convert forestry waste feedstock into cleaner-burning renewable diesel producing approximately 34 million (US) gallons (≈ 129 million litres) of renewable fuel per year, once in operation.
The company’s location in Northern Louisiana combines the right geology, an abundance of forestry waste from managed, sustainable forests with a favorable legislative and regulatory environment in Louisiana. Together these factors de-risk the project while serving as a blueprint for the energy industry working toward net-zero carbon.
The successful sequestration test well program completed in 2021 confirmed the plant’s ability to achieve deep carbon negativity.
For the 2021 private activity bond allocation year, LGF received US$250 million of the US$393 million that was available from the state. The allocation provides the right to issue tax-free bonds to finance the project, which is qualified to receive them because it is a waste-to-fuels project.
Although the State of Louisiana authorizes the issuance of the bonds, they are not guaranteed by the State nor are taxpayer dollars involved. To date, LGF has received US$450 million in total bond allocations toward plant construction.
We are going beyond net-zero by taking things a revolutionary step further and achieving a deeply negative carbon footprint, right here in the State of Louisiana. The continued support from the State and Governor Edwards reflects the confidence they have in our project and team. Our LGF project’s momentum is exciting, and we look forward to bringing together industry and agriculture in Northern Louisiana to create a better tomorrow filled with economic growth and opportunities, said Dr Paul Schubert, CEO of Strategic Biofuels.
Strategic Biofuels plans for the LGF plant to have a major economic impact on both Caldwell Parish and the surrounding region. Once complete, the LGF plant should create approximately 146 direct jobs on-site with an average annual income of US$68 000 per year, excluding benefits; while four to five times as many indirect job opportunities are expected.
As a result, the plant should substantially improve the local quality of life in the nation’s seventh poorest US Congressional District (LA-5) and tenth poorest Parish in Louisiana, which has an average household income of just US$32 000 per year.
