Two new hydrotreated biofuels units came online recently in the U.S.

Par Pacific announced in its first-quarter report that its Hawaii Renewables LLC joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp. and Eneos Corp. began commercial operations in April at its Kapolei refinery.

The company first announced the project, scaled at 61 million gallons per year (mgy), in April 2023.

Par Pacific received authorization in 2023 from the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone Board to use foreign-sourced vegetable oil to supplement locally sourced renewable feedstocks.

The company said then it was also working with Hawaii-based Pono Pacific in the planting of camelina crops to test the suitability of that oilseed for state production.

In July 2025, Par Pacific announced it was forming a joint venture with Mitsubishi and Eneos to establish Hawaii Renewables LLC.

Mitsubishi and Eneos formed Alohi Renewable Energy LLC to acquire a 36.5 percent equity stake in Hawaii Renewables in exchange for $100 million.

Par Pacific retained the remaining interest and led the project’s execution and operations through its affiliate, Par Hawaii Refining LLC.

In 2023, the company said its hydrotreated biofuels unit is designed to produce up to 60 percent SAF but that if market conditions are supportive, yield can be shifted to more than 90 percent renewable diesel.

Pretreatment technology was provided by Lutros LLC.

“During April, the Hawaii renewable fuels facility successfully achieved commercial operations, a major milestone for the project,” confirmed Will Monteleone, the president and CEO of Par Pacific. “Our outlook is strong and we are well positioned to capitalize on the elevated margin environment across our system.”

On the mainland, Calumet announced that its Montana Renewables subsidiary completed a turnaround and its MaxSAF® 150 expansion in March and April.

Operation of its MaxSAF 150 system in Great Falls began in early May.

The project significantly expands SAF production on-site from 30 mgy to between 120 mgy and 150 mgy.

Montana Renewables received a $1.44 billion loan guarantee from the U.S. federal government to expand SAF capacity to 300 mgy by 2028.

“The first quarter of 2026 marked a pivotal moment in Calumet’s transformation,” said Calumet CEO Todd Borgmann. “Late in the [first] quarter, we saw the renewable fuels market fundamentally transformed following EPA’s long-awaited ‘Set 2’ [renewable volume obligation (RVO)] announcement in March, and we entered one of the strongest margin environments we’ve seen across both traditional and renewable energy markets.  Further, we brought down Montana Renewables for a turnaround and MaxSAF 150 expansion in early March and successfully commenced operations in early May.”