CEC awards World Energy $2 million grant for Paramount blending-terminal project

World Energy announced May 2 that the California Energy Commission awarded the company a $2 million grant for its blending-terminal project in Paramount, California. The CEC approved the grant, named the “Ultra-Low-Carbon Fuel: Commercial-Scale Production Facilities & Blending Infrastructure” program, during its April 26 business meeting. World Energy’s project will increase low-carbon fuel production and shift truck deliveries to rail, driving down emissions and improving air quality in Paramount and surrounding communities.

“This project will help scale up in-state low-carbon fuel blending while reducing local air pollution,” said CEC Commissioner Patty Monahan. “While California is committed to a zero-emission transportation future, drop-in biofuels can cut greenhouse gas emissions in today’s vehicles and will play a critical role in decarbonizing on-road transportation emissions in medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sectors that are more difficult to electrify.”

Through the project, biodiesel will be delivered via the existing rail infrastructure, eliminating thousands of fuel tanker trucks from traveling local streets, reducing traffic and emissions. Renewable diesel produced at the Paramount facility will be blended with biodiesel on-site in the truck loading racks. When completed, the project will increase the efficiency and throughput of World Energy’s blending capabilities, delivering at least 156 million gallons per year of blended renewable diesel and biodiesel to the California market in 2024 and beyond. The increased volume and availability of higher-blend biofuels will improve local environmental and economic benefits.

“True decarbonization is going to require the mobilization of resources unlike anything the world has ever seen,” said Gene Gebolys, CEO of World Energy. “It won’t happen without the public and private sectors acting in unison. The CEC is showing the world how that can and should be done. We are endlessly grateful to our California public-sector partners for their support of our efforts to drive the frontier for California-based decarbonization solutions.”

In 2021, World Energy was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the USDA for the blending-terminal project. The grant money funded the installation of safety infrastructure, piping and upgraded biodiesel equipment.

World Energy owns and operates numerous biodiesel facilities across North America and a renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel plant in Paramount, California. In 2020, World Energy’s fuels accounted for a reduction in 480,881 metric tons of carbon, the equivalent of taking more than 100,000 cars off the road.