Valero Energy Corp. and Darling Ingredients Inc. have reached positive final investment decision (FID) to advance development of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project at 50-50 joint venture (JV) Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC’s (DGD) 470-million gal/year renewable diesel and 20 million gal/year renewable naphtha plant near Valero’s 395,000-b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Tex. (OGJ Online, Feb. 8, 2021).
Scheduled for completion in 2025, the planned $315-million project will enable DGD’s Port Arthur plant to upgrade about 50% of its current 470-million gal/year production capacity to SAF, Valero said on Jan. 31.
Part the operator’s growth strategy focused on innovation in renewables, the project supports increased demand for SAF as an economic path to further reducing the carbon intensity of DGD’s products while expanding its long-term competitive advantage, said Joe Gorder, Valero’s chairman and chief executive officer.
DGD commissioned its Port Arthur renewable diesel plant in late 2022, which raised the operator’s total renewable diesel production capacity from its Port Arthur and Lake Charles, La., plants to 1.2 billion gal/year (OGJ Online, Jan. 26, 2023).
