A new renewable energy centre is to be built in California and has been designed to produce around 600 barrels a day of renewable synthetic fuels as well as export around 35MW of renewable electric power.
The plant will be built in Rialto, California by a company called Rentech Inc which will aim to keep the carbon footprint of the plant close to zero as the fuels and power will be produced only from renewable feedstocks.
Known as RenDiesel, the fuel is compatible with most existing engines and pipelines and burns cleanly. Its emission particulates and other regulated pollutants are significantly below the emissions from the combustion of CARB ultra-low sulphur diesel. This low carbon footprint will help the transportation sector meet the targets outlined by the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
It is hoped that the power generated by this project will qualify under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard programme. This requires utilities to increase the amount of electric power they sell from renewable energy resources. It is believed the plant will be able to provide electricity for around 30,000 homes.
The project also incorporates a licensing agreement with SilvaGas Corporation for biomass gasification technology.
