An inland river port in the center of Louisiana has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency to convert wood waste into renewable fuels.
The Port of Columbia’s award, through the federal Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) for critical infrastructure, includes the Louisiana Green Fuels project at the port. Columbia is located on the banks of the Ouachita River, which eventually joins the Red River that flows into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Louisiana Green Fuels project will convert waste materials from certified managed forests into renewable diesel and naphtha with an integrated carbon capture and sequestration well. Strategic Biofuels is the EPC contractor for this project.
The PSGP provides funds to state, local, territorial, and private sector partners to protect risk management and transportation infrastructure at the ports. The grant given to the Port of Columbia is the largest award granted among the 15 Louisiana recipients which received grants and the top 8% of all awards granted.
“This funding commitment from DHS and FEMA recognizes our deeply carbon negative footprint LGF project as a key contributor to our country’s energy transition and worthy of federal investment into its security,” said Dr. Paul Schubert, CEO of Strategic Biofuels. “The Columbia Port Commission’s leaders have been strong advocates for us from the beginning and have been exceptionally effective in securing state and federal funds that enhance the Port’s infrastructure and support our project.”
As part of the Louisiana Green Fuels Project last year, Strategic Biofuels completed the first carbon capture and sequestration test well in Caldwell Parish (pictured).
