RNG, Jet Fuel Demand Drives U.S. Alternative Fuel Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Rising global demand for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable natural gas (RNG) are among the factors driving some of the latest projects in the U.S. Alternative Fuels Industry. RNG, in particular, can be developed through the recycling of uneaten food, animal droppings and other everyday waste. Industrial Info is tracking about $3.9 billion worth of active and planned alternative fuel-related projects across the U.S. that are expected to see development through the end of the year.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 parent companies for alternative fuel-related projects that could move forward in the fourth quarter.

DG Fuels LLC, the main subsidiary of D'Arcinoff Group Incorporated (Washington, D.C.), is evaluating a proposed SAF plant in Saint James, Louisiana. The facility is designed to process cellulose waste into as much as 161 million gallons of SAF per year, using "green" hydrogen produced by water electrolysis units that are powered by wind and solar. The project is in its early phases, where plenty of factors could alter, delay or cancel proposed development, but it made significant strides in recent months when Black & Veatch (Overland Park, Kansas) agreed to perform a front-end loading (FEL-3) engineering report, and Airbus SE (Leiden, Netherlands) agreed to purchase a portion of any initial output.

A final investment decision (FID) on the project is expected early next year. DG Fuels is encouraged by the Biden administration's "SAF Grand Challenge," which aims to develop enough SAF to meet all domestic aviation fuel demand by 2050. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Alternative Fuel Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.

Among the projects at alternative fuel facilities that are more likely to begin construction in the coming months are Marquis Energy LLC's (Hennepin, Illinois) addition of a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) unit at its ethanol plant in Hennepin, Illinois, which produces 365 million gallons per year. The Marquis plant was one of 17 facilities across the U.S. to receive a total of $118 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to accelerate the production of sustainable biofuels; specifically, it received more than $8.5 million to reduce emissions from its ethanol production. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Hamilton RNG Holdings LLC, a joint venture between UGI Corporation (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) and Synthica Energy LLC (Blue Ash, Ohio), broke ground earlier this summer on a food waste digester at its Saint Bernard RNG project in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hamilton RNG also is at work on a landfill gas-collection system, an anaerobic digester tank system, and a gas upgrader and purification system to capture waste methane emissions from 190,000 tons per year of food-derived feedstock to produce 250,000 million British thermal units per year of pipeline-grade RNG. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

"This facility will process organic waste from the greater Cincinnati region that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill, or less sustainable disposal sites, and turn it into RNG," said Sam Schutte, the chief executive officer of Synthica Energy, in a press release. The RNG produced will be injected into a local natural gas pipeline on the regional distribution system, according to the company.

Other RNG projects are in earlier phases of development and seeking necessary permits for construction. These include:

• the Bergen Farms & Glenview Dairy RNG Plant in Odessa, New York, which is being developed by Cayuga RNG Holdings LLC, a joint venture between UGI and Global Common Ventures LLC (Garden City, New York), to produce pipeline-quality RNG from cow manure; see project report
• BioEnergy DevCo's (Annapolis, Maryland) RNG unit at its compost plant in Seaford, Delaware, which aims to process RNG from 200,000 metric tons per year of chicken waste; see project report
• Novilla RNG LLC's (Belleville, Michigan) Ocheda Dairy RNG Plant in Worthington, Minnesota, which aims to process RNG from cow manure at the nearby dairy; see project report

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and planned alternative fuel-related projects across the U.S. that are expected to see development through the end of the year.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).