Canadian company Woodland Biofuels has announced plans for a substantial $1.35 billion investment at the Port of South Louisiana. The project aims to create the largest carbon-negative renewable natural gas and ultra-green hydrogen facility in the world, advancing carbon-negative technology on a global scale.
The plant will be located at the Globalplex multimodal facility, where it will convert waste biomass into sustainable biofuels and biobunkers for use in transportation, heating, and electricity generation. The development will occur in two stages: Phase 1 will focus on building the largest carbon-negative renewable natural gas facility, while Phase 2 will add the world’s largest carbon-negative ultra-green hydrogen plant.
CEO Greg Nuttall said: “Our carbon negative sustainable biofuel plant will be an economic driver for St. John Parish and beyond. We look forward to establishing deep ties with the local community, drawing on the existing world-class workforce and utilizing Louisiana’s exceptional infrastructure to execute on our project.”
This project is set to boost the local job market significantly. Phase 1 alone is expected to create around 500 construction positions and 110 permanent, high-paying jobs. Louisiana Economic Development anticipates an additional 259 indirect jobs, resulting in a total of 869 new positions, of which 369 will be permanent.
The environmental benefits could also be significant, with the facility aiming to remove hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. Phase 1 is projected to eliminate 210,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, while Phase 2 will further increase this to 660,000 tonnes per year.
Louisiana Economic Development has supported the project with a $250 million incentives package, which includes performance-based grants, infrastructure development, and workforce training programs.
The first phase of the plant is expected to become operational by 2028, marking a significant milestone in the transition to carbon-negative energy solutions.
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