Port of Columbia Approved for $15 Million Grant in Support of Strategic Biofuels Project
January 19 2022 - 2:32PM
Business Wire
Infrastructure improvement grant from the
Louisiana Port Construction and Development Priority Program will
fund carbon negative site improvements
Strategic Biofuels, the leader in developing negative carbon
footprint renewable fuels plants, and the Port of Columbia in
Caldwell Parish (Port) have jointly announced that the Port has
received a $15 million infrastructure improvement grant. The grant,
intended to fund site improvements, is from the Louisiana Port
Construction and Development Priority Program, which is
administered by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and
Development (DOTD).
Port Director, Greg Richardson said, “The infrastructure
improvement grant represents a major advancement for the Port of
Columbia and Caldwell Parish. It allows the Port to improve the
services it can offer and ultimately improve revenues. Because of
the grant’s potential impact, the Port engaged Gary LaGrange,
longtime Director of the Port of New Orleans, to help us navigate
the grant application process. During Gary’s 15-year tenure with
the Port of New Orleans, he was responsible for more than $500
million in infrastructure improvements before he retired in 2016.
Our success in securing the grant confirmed the Port Commissioners’
wisdom in engaging him.”
The Port of Columbia is the site of Strategic Biofuels’
Louisiana Green Fuels (LGF) Project, and the grant will enhance the
Port’s accessibility, serviceability and covers three areas of site
improvement:
- Riverton Camp Road upgrade.
Upgrading the current site access road to heavy industrial grade is
an early requirement as it will provide immediate plant
construction site entry. This work is being designed by the Port’s
engineering firm Bryant Hammett & Associates, who are based in
Ferriday, Louisiana. Construction for the upgrade is expected to
begin mid-summer 2022.
- Rail spur construction. A 37-car
rail spur will be constructed to allow access to the Union Pacific
mainline that borders the port site. Engineering design, which is
funded by LGF has been completed by Hatch and construction expected
to begin in 2023.
- Rail overpass construction. In
conjunction with LGF and DOTD, the Port has developed a thoughtful
traffic pattern to ensure safe and efficient access for forestry
transport trucks to and from the future plant site. The design work
is being performed by Meyer, Meyer, LaCroix & Hixson, Inc., who
are headquartered in Alexandria, Louisiana, and previously designed
the Highway 165 rail overpass just north of the Port. Ensuring
maximum traffic safety, the design features a new rail overpass
directly into the site and a US Hwy 165 underpass using the
existing highway rail overpass along with a traffic circle,
eliminating all truck left turns, at-grade rail crossings and stop
signs. Construction of the rail overpass is expected to begin in
2023.
Bob Meredith, Strategic Biofuels’ Chief Operating Officer and
Caldwell Parish native said, “We greatly appreciate the efforts the
Port has made to secure funding for infrastructure improvements.
The early upgrading of Riverton Camp Road coming this summer
provides strong support for LGF’s aggressive construction schedule.
It allows us to begin actual plant construction as soon as the full
project funding is secured, and we expect that to be in early 2023.
The Port has also been a key contributor in our efforts with DOTD
and Union Pacific Railroad. The strong support we’ve continued to
receive from Caldwell Parish confirms the wisdom of locating the
plant here.”
About the Port of Columbia:
The Port of Columbia is a Louisiana Economic Development (LED)
Certified Site located six miles north of Columbia in Caldwell
Parish, LA. Certified Sites are development-ready industrial sites
which have passed an extensive application process and exhaustive
review by an independent, third-party engineering firm. The Port of
Columbia is governed by a board of commissioners who are
accountable to the Caldwell Parish government.
About Strategic Biofuels:
Strategic Biofuels LLC is a team of oil and gas, petrochemical
and renewable technology experts focused on developing a series of
deeply negative carbon footprint plants in northern Louisiana that
convert waste materials from managed forests into renewable diesel
and renewable naphtha. The fuel qualifies for substantial Carbon
Credits under the Federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and under
the California Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS).
About Louisiana Green Fuels:
Louisiana Green Fuels is the first project by Strategic Biofuels
in northern Louisiana at the Port of Columbia in Caldwell Parish.
The plant and its accompanying Class VI Carbon Capture and
Sequestration Wells will be the first renewable fuels project in
North America to achieve “negative” carbon emissions and the most
carbon-negative of any liquid fuels plant in the world. The
feedstock for the plant is forestry waste from managed and
sustainable forests.
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Uniqua Williams uwilliams@piercom.com