USDA guarantees $91M loan for La. biofuel plant

Loan guarantee to Cool Planet will help finish construction at the Port of Alexandria.    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reached an agreement with Silicon Valley Bank to provide a $91 million Biorefinery Assistance Program loan guarantee to Cool Planet to help the company finish construction on a biofuel plant at the Port of Alexandria in Louisiana.
   In addition to USDA’s contribution, Cool Planet has attracted private investments from numerous companies, including Google Ventures, BP, ConocoPhillips, GE, Exelon and NRG Energy. Cool Planet will contribute $50 million in equity to the project.
   The Cool Planet facilities will produce between 8 million and 10 million gallons of reformate a year after reaching full capacity. Often referred to as a “drop-in” fuel, reformate is an ingredient in gasoline and jet fuel that can be added during the regular refinery process. Pine chips will be the feedstock source for the Cool Planet facility, but the company can use almost any type of cellulosic material.
   Last month, USDA announced a conditional commitment on a $105 million loan guarantee to Fulcrum Sierra Biofuels to build a biorefinery in Nevada to produce renewable jet fuel from municipal solid waste. The department has awarded similar commitments for other plants in Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Oregon. 
   USDA’s loan commitment to Cool Planet is being financed from the remainder of the Biorefinery Assistance Program funds authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill. An additional project financed from these funds will be announced later this month. Congress reauthorized and extended the program in the 2014 Farm Bill. It also expanded the program to include bio-based renewable chemicals and bio-based product manufacturing, USDA said.