World Energy has been awarded $11 million in state tax credits toward the expansion of its Paramount jet fuel refinery, California Treasurer Fiona Ma announced Jan. 21.
Boston-based World Energy, which bought the refinery in 2018, plans to spend $131 million on equipment purchases for the expansion project, according to an application document filed with the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, which approved the tax credit request.
The total project cost, which includes labor and regulatory compliance, was not provided in the document since only equipment purchases qualify for the tax credit.
AltAir, World Energy’s renewable aviation fuel subsidiary, said in the application that it plans to expand the refinery’s capacity to 275 million gallons of renewable jet fuel per year from the current 35 million gallons per year; the project is expected to be completed in 2022.
Input materials for the jet fuel will be non-food grade vegetable oils and beef fat and animal tallow, according to the application. The process would also create renewable gasoline and propane.
World Energy bought the refinery in March 2018 for a reported $72 million from Delek U.S. Holdings of Brentwood, Tenn. The sale also included Delek’s pipeline network in California.
“This acquisition places us in the heart of the growing California cleaner fuels market by adding to our platform the world’s first renewable jet refinery and one of only three U.S. renewable diesel plants,” World Energy Chief Executive Gene Gebolys said in a statement at the time of the sale.
World Energy did not respond to a request for comment on the sales tax credit award or the project status.
The Paramount refinery includes a 63-acre complex consisting of the fuel refinery, product storage tanks with a capacity of 1.7 million barrels and a truck rack with a throughput capacity of 28,000 barrels per day.
Healthcare/biomed, energy, engineering/construction and infrastructure reporter Howard Fine can be reached at hfine@labusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @howardafine.
