The renewable energy facility will be co-located with Hughes Hardwood’s wood component products manufacturing facility in Collinwood, Tennessee.
Under the MOU, Hughes Hardwood will supply 1000 dry ton per day of wood product for conversion into approximately 16 million gallons of synthetic jet or diesel fuel and 4 million gallons of naphtha per year, as well as approximately 8MW of excess renewable power. The project is currently expected to be operational by early 2014.
According to ClearFuels, this is the first public confirmation of the company’s plans for developing a number of commercial projects using the integrated ClearFuels-Rentech thermo chemical technology for biomass to renewable jet or diesel fuel production.
The final design basis for the Collinwood commercial facility and other commercial projects will come from the joint demonstration of ClearFuels’ biomass gasifier integrated with Rentech’s synthetic fuels technology at a project at Rentech’s Energy Technology Center in Commerce City, Colorado.
This joint demonstration project is supported by a $22.6m conditional grant from the US Department of Energy. ClearFuels expects to begin receiving funds from this grant by the end of March.
According to ClearFuels, this commercial facility is targeted to begin in late 2011 following completion of its joint demonstration project with Rentech.
Mike Yeager, land manager of Hughes Hardwood, said: ”The concept of biomass harvesting will revolutionize the logging industry in the South. Landowners who prefer biomass contractors over a conventional harvest will see both economic advantages and a more attractive post-harvest site.
”Every land owner Hughes Hardwood has assisted has had an issue with disposing of the remaining residual fiber. Now I can offer a profitable solution to that problem.”
