US-based renewable fuels producer, Renewable Energy Group (REG), has announced that it will be expanding its site in Geismar, Louisiana from 90 to 340 million gallons per year.

What's happening exactly?

The plant expansion process should start early next year, but won't be complete until 2023. It's going to cost REG an estimated $825 million to get it done, but the state of Louisiana will provide "workforce support and tax incentives". The Governor added that the project, "shows Louisiana can be both an energy leader and a climate leader.".

Some context:

For REG, this is "an exciting milestone for our business as we continue to advance our drive to produce low carbon fuels at significant scale,". While the company operates 11 biorefineries in the US, the largest among them does 100 million gallons per year. Remember, both Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum are planning on 730 million gallon biorefineries in the next couple of years.

Read the press release here.

British power and propulsion system manufacturer, Rolls-Royce (BMW owns the car part of the company), has announced that it will be providing a gas power plant for an LNG regasification terminal in India.

The details:

The terminal will unload LNG cargo and convert it back into its initial gaseous state, and the Rolls-Royce power plant will be integrated at the site for energy optimization. The plant will "include three 9.6 MW gensets, based on the 20-cylinder Rolls-Royce Bergen B35:40 gas engines".

A little perspective:

With now over 50% of the natural gas it uses arriving on boats, India is the world's fourth-largest importer of natural gas. The natural gas is liquefied where it is produced and shipped overseas to then be regasified upon arrival. It's sort of like a pipeline but without the pipeline.

Read the press release here.

American multinational energy corporation, Chevron, has announced the formation of a joint venture with waste solutions company Brightmark.

What are they doing together?

The two companies will "own projects across the United States to produce and market dairy biomethane, a renewable natural gas (RNG).". Chevron will purchase and market the RNG produced from the facilities Brightmark makes possible.

Didn't we just see this?

Yes, but no, last week we talked about how Chevron's other (but virtually identical) joint venture successfully produced RNG from a dairy farm. Oil majors like Chevron are getting into the clean fuels game by leveraging existing infrastructure and its expert personnel. It's not all too different than how Shell and BP are marketing Neste's renewable jet fuel.

Read the press release here.