The Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy (LDCE) has issued the state’s first-of-a-kind permitting to Strategic Biofuels LLC for subsidiary Louisiana Green Fuels LLC’s (LGF) grassroots biorefinery and adjacent bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (CCS; BECCS) power plant under development on a 327-acre site at the Port of Columbia in northeast Louisiana’s Caldwell Parish, about 25 miles south of Monroe.
In an order taking effect on June 25, LDCE approved LGF’s three applications seeking permission for the drilling, construction, and operation of three new Class VI injection wells for sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) as part of the biorefining-BECCS project.
LDCE’s approval of LGF’s final Class VI permit for CO2 geologic sequestration marks the first ever to be issued by Louisiana for a carbon sequestration project that includes multiple injection wells.
With permitting secured, Strategic Biofuels said LGF is cleared to proceed with generation of up to to 600 Mw of carbon-negative electric power associated with the permitted reservoir’s permanent CO2 storage capacity, positioning the LGF project as a scalable model for delivering reliable carbon-negative power and permanent carbon storage,
“This is a defining moment for Strategic Biofuels and for [CCS] in Louisiana,” said Dr. Paul Schubert, Strategic Biofuels’ chief operating officer, adding that “[LDCE’s] issuance of the permit demonstrates that projects combining the right geology, proven technology, strong local support, and a clear economic purpose to meet real market demand can successfully advance.”
Schubert said LGF also can serve as a replicable model for responsible carbon capture projects across the US.
Issuance of the final Class VI permit for the LGF project follows a draft version LDCE issued in March.
The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) previously approved LGF’s application for a synthetic minor air permit—also a first of its kind in the state—in September 2023 upon finding the project would not have an adverse impact on local air resources.
Presumably still on schedule for startup in 2029, Phase 1 of the LGF project will feature a 100-Mw wood-fired power plant with dedicated CCS fueled by 1.3 million tonnes/year (tpy) of locally and sustainably sourced forestry feedstock to generate a net 75 Mw of 24-hr/day, carbon-neutral electricity for export to the Louisiana industrial grid. LGF will use the balance of generated power on site to power its CCS operations.
Once the CCS-BECCS plant is operational, LGF will be able to capture more than 1 million tpy of CO2 from the plant’s power-generating process for permanent storage in the dedicated geologic reservoir located about a mile directly beneath site operations.
Combined, the reservoir’s three injection wells will have more than three times the CO2-sequestration capacity needed for the project’s first phase, providing ample room for the project’s subsequent expansion, according to Strategic Biofuels.
Phase 2 uncertainty
While Strategic Biofuels in March said Phase 2 of the project would follow with construction of a proposed biorefinery for production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the second phase now might only include additional low-carbon power generation, according to the operator’s website.
The company previously announced in February 2024 that it would shift LGF’s primary renewable fuel product to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from an originally planned mix of renewable diesel and renewable naphtha to help meet rising demand from the commercial aviation industry on its path to decarbonization.
At the time, Strategic Biofuels said it expected the renewable-fuels portion of the project, once completed, to produce about 640 million gal/year combined renewable fuels.
