Renewable Biofuel Facility Proposed For South Louisiana
Woodland Biofuels Inc., the state of Louisiana and Greater New Orleans Inc. (GNO Inc.) have announced plans for Woodland Biofuels to build a $1.35 billion project at the Port of South Louisiana (PortSL) that would be one of the world’s largest renewable biofuels production facilities. The Toronto-based company would utilize waste biomass to produce sustainable biofuel used in transportation, heating and electricity generation.
A front-end engineering design (FEED) study for the site is anticipated to be finalized by the second quarter of 2025, with a final investment decision expected by the end of next year. Commercial operations for the first phase of the project–the renewable natural gas production plant–are projected to start in 2028.
According to Micah Cormier, director of business development and external affairs at the Port of South Louisiana, the facility would receive feedstocks by barge and truck, with refined product delivered by pipeline.
The new facility, to be located at the Globalplex multimodal facility at the Port of South Loauisiana, would include the largest renewable natural gas production plant in the world, according to the company. As part of the facility’s operations, Woodlands Biofuels expects to permanently remove hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually and store it safely underground at a carbon sequestration site to be determined at a later date.
Woodland’s technology uses waste biomass to generate low cost, carbon negative hydrogen, renewable natural gas, methanol or ethanol. From an environmental perspective, Woodland claims its technology results in up to a 283 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
If the project moves forward as outlined, the company expects to create 110 direct new jobs with an average annual salary of more than $90,000. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) estimates the project would result in 259 indirect new jobs for a total of 369 potential new jobs in the southeast region of Louisiana. Woodlands Biofuels estimates the project would create approximately 500 construction jobs.
To support the project in Reserve, LED offered Woodland Biofuels a competitive incentives package that includes a $10 million performance-based grant for infrastructure improvements and the comprehensive workforce development solutions of LED FastStart. The company is also expected to participate in the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.
“Woodlands Biofuels is set to become a signature part of Louisiana and [the Greater New Orleans area’s] ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy,” GNO Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht said. “$1.3 billion plus 110 new jobs plus renewable natural gas and hydrogen is a winning formula for everyone. Congratulations to the Port of South Louisiana. GNO Inc. is glad to have been a partner for this exciting project.”
“Woodland is thrilled to announce that we plan to build, right here at the Port of South Louisiana, the world’s largest carbon-negative RNG facility,” Woodland Biofuels CEO Greg Nuttall said. “Our sustainable biofuel plant will be an economic driver for [St. John the Baptist Parish] and beyond. We look forward to establishing deep ties with the local community, drawing on the existing world-class workforce and utilizing Louisiana’s exceptional infrastructure to execute on our project.”
“Port of South Louisiana is the second ranked port in the nation for energy transfer,” said Paul Matthews, the port’s CEO. “This significant investment by Woodland Biofuels to construct the world’s largest carbon negative renewable natural gas plant and a large-scale green hydrogen facility at our Globalplex Intermodal Terminal proves that PortSL and the state of Louisiana are leading the way in diversifying our energy industry, which will result in the creation of hundreds of high-paying jobs for river region families.”
