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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

SunGas Renewables Plans Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Low-Carbon Methanol Plant

07/28/2023
SunGas Renewables, an independent division of GTI Energy, plans to establish a renewable low-carbon methanol production facility in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The $1.8 billion project is expected to create 109 jobs.

Beaver Lake Renewable Energy (BLRE) would be located at the site of the former International Paper facility in Pineville and would manufacture nearly 400,000 metric tons of green methanol per year for SunGas customers. Operations are tentatively scheduled for 2027.

“Using biomass from sustainably managed forestry along with carbon capture allows our project to generate green marine shipping fuel while simultaneously removing carbon from the atmosphere,” SunGas Renewables CEO Robert Rigdon said. “As we continue our mission to make a meaningful impact in the energy transition, we look forward to collaborating with all our project partners and the state of Louisiana to construct and operate this important project. This incredible effort happening right here in Pineville will be an innovative and industry leading low-carbon energy solution that will help fuel a better world.”

To support the project in Pineville, the state of Louisiana has prepared a an incentives package that includes the comprehensive workforce development solutions of LED FastStart and a $6 million performance-based grant for infrastructure improvements upon meeting investment and employment targets. If the project moves forward, the company is expected to participate in the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

“As the only state in the Gulf South with a climate action plan, Louisiana is a global leader in the energy transition and companies like SunGas Renewables have taken notice,” Governor John Bel Edwards noted. “I applaud SunGas Renewables for pursuing this massive investment that would create quality, high-paying jobs in central Louisiana for our talented workers. If it moves forward, this project will be another milestone in our efforts to grow and diversify our economy. The state will continue to support the company’s efforts to bring it to completion.”

SunGas Renewables is focused on utilizing the sun’s energy from organic wastes and their byproducts—including wood, food, animal and human wastes—and converting it at the highest efficiency possible into renewable fuel, while simultaneously reducing the adverse effects of various waste streams on the environment. The company deploys proven commercial technologies to produce high quality syngas that can yield green hydrogen, RNG, methanol, liquid transportation fuels, or chemicals.

"The Beaver Lake Renewable Energy project would be another large-scale investment in central Louisiana's green energy profile,” Louisiana Central president and CEO Jim Clinton added. “This region is emerging as an important player in the nation's energy transition with new jobs and investments now occurring throughout our region. We thank SunGas Renewables for choosing this area as the proposed site of its first green methanol production facility."

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