– AS A PROJECT PARTNER, USA BIOENERGY WILL HELP DEVELOP AND DEPLOY PROJECTS THAT AIM TO DE-RISK AND CATALYZE INVESTMENT IN BDO ZONES –
Ecostrat is pleased to announce that USA BioEnergy has joined the BDO Zone Strategic Alliance as a partner in the Project Group. BDO Zone Strategic Alliance Partners include some of the leading companies in the bioenergy industry that help de-risk biobased project development in BDO Zones.
USA BioEnergy specializes in renewable fuels development and is building a series of advanced biorefineries that use sustainably sourced lower-valued wood residuals to create Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Renewable Naphtha. Their process utilizes gasification, Fischer-Tropsch, upgrading, carbon capture, and sequestration. USA BioEnergy plans to deliver over 100 million gallons of SAF to LAX annually, thus reducing GHG emissions by 2.5 million metric tons of CO2 per year or 50 million metric tons over a 20- year period.
Nick Andrews, CEO of USA BioEnergy, states, “USA BioEnergy is grateful to join the BDO Zone Strategic Alliance as a Project Partner. The importance of developing advanced biorefineries that produce net negative fuels, with ultra-low carbon intensity, cannot be understated. Our mission is to help the airlines meet their stated goals of carbon neutrality.”
Jordan Solomon, President of Ecostrat, states, “The BDO Zone Initiative is pleased to continue its collaboration with USA BioEnergy, who can support BDO Zone communities with their expertise in developing innovative projects that can deliver low-carbon, reliable and high-quality bioenergy.”
The recent issuance of the first AA-rated BDO Zone for Bon Wier, Texas, on October 2022, further solidifies USA BioEnergy’s commitment to advancing biorefinery technology and reducing carbon emissions. The facility will convert 1M green tons of wood waste into 34M gallons of premium clean burning transportation fuel annually. Nick Andrews states, “We seek project excellence and then we run that through a filter of everything that could go wrong.” The company’s commitment to excellence is evident in its development of the Bon Wier advanced biorefinery through its subsidiary Texas Renewable Fuels (TRF), which has won the 2023 CiCi Award for community impact and is recognized as one of Texas’s top projects by Site Selection Magazine.
USA BioEnergy is proud to work with Citigroup for equity and permanent debt financing. “USA BioEnergy has engaged Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to act as lead underwriter for a tax-exempt private activity bond offering that will comprise the majority of the senior debt financing for the Texas Renewable Fuels project. Citi and USA BioEnergy have worked closely together for more than two years to develop an efficient, achievable plan and we look forward to delivering on this vision,” said David Livingstone, Managing Director, Citigroup.
About USA BioEnergy:
USA BioEnergy is a renewable fuels development and integration group based in Scottsdale, Arizona, created to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Renewable Diesel, and Renewable Naphtha from readily available wood waste feedstock. The Company is in the planning stages to build twelve transportation fuel production facilities consecutively. Upon completion, the first facility will produce an estimated 34M gallons annually of premium renewable fuels, with future plans to double the plant’s capacity. The Company will capture approximately 50M metric tons of CO2 over the life of the biorefinery, which will be permanently sequestered in geologic storage deep underground. This will give the Company one of the lowest carbon intensity scores in the industry. The Company has selected the latest bankable proven technology sets from world-renowned providers in gasification, Fischer-Tropsch, and hydrocarbon upgrading. USA BioEnergy’s integrated approach has been identified by its experienced engineering team as the most cost-effective method that produces the highest quality direct replacement for fossil transportation fuels. The company’s definite purpose is to be the world’s leader in advanced biofuels.
For more information about USA BioEnergy, visit www.usabioenergy.com. To connect directly with Nick Andrews, CEO, please email [email protected].
About the Double Eagle Opportunity Zone Fund (“DEOZF”):
The opportunity zone (OZ) incentive became part of the tax code at the end of 2017 and has since led to billions of dollars of investment in low-income communities. The new rules provide a delay in the reporting of certain capital gains until 2026 (and a possible reduction in tax liability in the case of investments made prior to 2022), as well as relief from taxation that would otherwise apply to a sale of a properly structured OZ incentive ten or more years later. For stakeholders in the renewable energy space, the OZ incentive provides an opportunity to enhance the benefits associated with renewable energy tax credits.
USA BioEnergy is the fund manager of the Double Eagle Opportunity Zone Fund (“DEOZF”), a national Opportunity Zone fund. The DEOZF was created to allow investors to directly invest in renewable energy projects developed by USA BioEnergy, as well as other projects within the bioeconomy that meet the Opportunity Zone requirements. By taking advantage of preferential tax treatment to defer capital gain while investing in renewable energy projects, the fund offers accredited investors the chance to invest in USA BioEnergy’s waste to fuels facilities. For more information, visit: www.DoubleEagleOZF.com.
About The BDO Zone Initiative
The BDO Zone Initiative is an economic development platform that enables local communities to deploy powerful economic development tools – BDO Zone Ratings – to achieve the goal of driving, accelerating, and catalyzing biobased investment and commercial project development in BDO Zone-designated regions for new biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas, and bioproduct plants. BDO Zone Ratings do this by carrying out credible technical evaluations on feedstock and infrastructure risk and then enabling communities to effectively signal and promote key feedstock and infrastructure “success” characteristics valued by biobased developers and investors around the world.
‘AA’ or ‘A’ rated BDO Zones identify the best areas for low-risk bioeconomy project development. BDO Zone Ratings enable distressed communities to add capacity to support the deployment of innovative technology and infrastructure, and this drives regional economic development to areas where poverty has been persistent for generations, harnessing natural resources to support biobased manufacturing and renewable energy production.
BDO Zones have the ability to move the needle on job creation, decarbonization, and social justice. By achieving the goal of 1,000 BDO Zones in four years across the U.S., this Initiative has the potential to create more than 160,000 clean jobs, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2.59%, and provide
$30,000,000/year into the local economy.
The BDO Zone Strategic Alliance Partnership is divided into four groups: Capital Markets Partners, Project Partners, Technology Partners, and Supply Chain Partners.
For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative, please contact [email protected]. To view all current and upcoming BDO Zone designations, visit www.bdozone.org or check out the BDO Zone LinkedIn page for all news and updates.
About Ecostrat
Ecostrat led the USDOE/BETO funded project to develop the new investment Standards and Ratings for Biomass Supply Chain Risk.
The Biomass Supply Group has 25 years of experience in sourcing and supplying more than 5 million tons of biomass feedstock for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects across North America. Its Advisory Group combines the BSCR Standards with powerful predictive analytics to understand and minimize supply chain risk.
Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat. He has overseen the development and operation of biomass supply chains for more than 5,000,000 tons of feedstock over two decades for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects.
Jordan Solomon can be reached at [email protected]. For more information about Ecostrat, visit the company’s website at www.ecostrat.com/standards or check out the Ecostrat LinkedIn page for all news and updates.