Canadian renewable fuel company Woodland Biofuels announced on Tuesday an investment of $1.35-billion at the Port of South Louisiana to establish a renewable natural gas (RNG) plant and ultra-green hydrogen facility.
The Toronto-headquartered company uses waste biomass to produce sustainable biofuel, which can then be used in transportation, heating and electricity generation.
The new facility will be located at the Globalplex facility at the Port of South Louisiana, the company said in the release, with the first phase of commercial operations set to start in 2028.
RNG’s environmental benefits include the reduction of natural gas usage and capturing climate-warming emissions that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
However, RNG is more expensive than natural gas, which is also experiencing a period of sustained low prices, currently down about 12 per cent so far into the year.
Phase 1 of the Woodland project could see the removal of 210,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, and phase 2 could remove nearly 660,000 tonnes, storing them underground.
The privately held company did not disclose any financial details of the deal or capacity of RNG that it would be able to produce.
To further support the project, the Louisiana Economic Development would offer a package worth $250-million in incentives to Woodland Biofuels, which includes performance-based grants and the comprehensive workforce development solutions, the company said.