Woodland Biofuels Invests $1.35B in RNG, H2 Facility in Louisiana

Toronto-based Woodland Biofuels Inc. is investing $1.35 billion in the Port of South Louisiana to establish a renewable natural gas (RNG) plant and an ultra-green hydrogen facility.

The first phase 1 of the project aims to build the largest carbon negative RNG facility globally, while the second phase is the world’s largest carbon negative ultra-green hydrogen plant. Woodland will use waste biomass to produce sustainable biofuel used in transportation, heating and electricity generation, the company said in a news release. Commercial operations for the first phase are projected to start in 2028.

The new facility will be located at the Globalplex multimodal facility at the Port of South Louisiana. The company expects to permanently remove hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere annually and store it safely underground. Phase 1 is expected to permanently remove 210,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, while Phase 2 will remove approximately 660,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. Ultimately, the project is expected to be one of the largest carbon dioxide removal projects globally, permanently removing millions of metric tons of CO2 from the ecosystem.

“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, followed by the world’s largest carbon negative ultra-green hydrogen plant. Our sustainable biofuel plant will be an economic driver for St. John Parish and beyond,” Woodland Biofuels CEO Greg Nuttall said. “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.”.

“With a multigenerational skilled workforce and abundant natural resources, there is no place in the world better positioned to help energy companies grow and thrive,” Secretary of Economic Development Susan Bourgeois said. “Woodland Biofuels’ project would bring high-paying jobs to the great people of St. John the Baptist Parish for years to come. The state looks forward to working with the company to bring this project to completion”.

"Port of South Louisiana is the second-ranked port in the nation for energy transfer," Port of South Louisiana CEO Paul Matthews said. "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”.

To support the project, Louisiana Economic Development (LED) offered Woodland Biofuels a competitive incentives package that the company values at more than $250 million, including performance-based grants, other economic development programs for infrastructure improvements and the comprehensive workforce development solutions of LED FastStart. The company is expected to participate in the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs, according to the release.

“Woodlands Biofuels is proof of the power of Louisiana and GNO’s ‘all of the above’ energy strategy,” Greater New Orleans, Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht said. “$1.3B plus 110 new jobs plus renewable natural gas and hydrogen is a winning formula for everyone. Congratulations to the Port of South Louisiana, and GNO, Inc. is glad to have been a partner for this outstanding project”.

Woodland's technology uses waste biomass to generate low-cost, carbon-negative hydrogen, renewable natural gas, methanol or ethanol. The company said its technology results in up to a 354 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

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