USA BioEnergy purchases land in East Texas for $2.8 billion SAF project

Andrews (Photo: USA BioEnergy)

USA BioEnergy announced Jan. 12 it has closed on the acquisition of 1,600-plus acres of land in East Texas for its new $2.8 billion advanced biorefinery designed to convert wood waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The planned greenfield facility in Bon Weir, Texas, is currently in detailed design and engineering and aims to address airlines’ growing demand for SAF by converting sustainably sourced forest thinnings into SAF.

The landmark SAF facility already secured a 20-year offtake agreement with Southwest Airlines under which Southwest may purchase up to 680 million gallons of neat SAF.

Once blended with conventional jet fuel, the SAF could produce the equivalent of 2.59 billion gallons of net-zero fuel, according to USA BioEnergy, and avoid 30 million metric tons of CO2 over the offtake-agreement term. 

According to the company’s calculations, this will enable approximately 112,000 short (less than three hours) or 7,000 long haul (more than 10 hours) net-zero airline flights per year.

“This advanced-fuels facility development milestone underscores USA BioEnergy’s commitment to the future of aviation and energy security,” said CEO Nick Andrews.

“It bolsters our goal of being the world’s leader in advanced fuels,” Andrews added. “We also appreciate the opportunity to create good-paying jobs in Newton County, Texas, which has one of the lowest per-capita incomes in the state of Texas. We are proud this project is a win-win-win for the area, the industry and our business objectives.” 

The initial plant footprint is approximately 300 acres, providing ample room for growth and plant expansion.

After the engineering and design process concludes, construction of the biorefinery is expected to take about two years, followed by a six- to eight-month commissioning period. 

The state-of-the-art facility will annually convert 1 million tons of sustainably sourced forest thinnings into 65 million gallons of premium net-zero transportation fuel, including sustainable aviation fuel and renewable naphtha, according to USA BioEnergy.

The plant will also capture and sequester over 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the biorefinery’s lifetime.

The project is receiving support from state, county and federal credits and tax incentives totaling approximately $150 million.

Local supporting organizations include the Texas Forest Country Partnership, Texas Forestry Association, the City of Newton, Newton County, the Newton Independent School District, Jasper County, the Sabine River Authority, and the Texas Economic Development and Tourism Office of the Governor.

The Bon Wier, Texas, biofuels plant is a project being developed by Texas Renewable Fuels, a subsidiary of USA BioEnergy.