by Dave Collings (1898 & Co./Burns & McDonnell) For organizations looking to develop, construct and commission a new renewable diesel plant, it’s important to understand the various market conditions at play to avoid poorly made investments and the pitfalls of lost future opportunities.
Since 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) continued increase of renewable volume obligations (RVOs) and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) has spurred rapid growth in renewable diesel interest. Within a period of only two years, a product that has been largely ignored by the oil industry is now being considered in the long-term plans of large and small refiners for coprocessing or new facilities.
by Dave Collings (1898 & Co./Burns & McDonnell) As developers, investors and plant operators explore options to increase production and market share of renewable fuels, the concept of carbon intensity (CI) must be well-understood. It might be the deciding factor that determines economic viability of your biofuels project.
In California and an increasing number of other states, CI is the metric that will directly impact investment returns for renewable fuels production facilities. California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) uses CI as a tool to measure the estimated life-cycle carbon emissions of a given fuel, relative to the energy it produces during combustion. This measurement is based on the Argonne National Laboratory Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET model).