“The projections are that DG fuels will create 2,047 direct and indirect jobs, including 650 new direct jobs in St. James Parish, with an estimated average annual salary exceeding $72,000 plus benefits and another big number for the community as well,” said WWL’s Newell Normand.
He was talking about a proposed large-scale sustainable aviation fuel manufacturing facility that could be headed to Louisiana. Michael Darcy, chairman and C.E.O. of DG Fuels, joined Normand to discuss the $4 billion proposal.
“This is a technology that's been validated over quite a long time. It wasn’t always, you know, intended for renewables or low emissions fuels,” Darcy explained. He said that about 5% of our carbon feedstock in Louisiana is actually sugarcane trash, which can become a revenue stream.
Darcy also said the aviation industry loves this plan for low emissions fuels.
“There’s three or four different ways you can make low emissions fuels,” he told Normand of the process that uses sugarcane, timber and plant waste. “We think ours is probably the one and the most scalable.”
In addition to bringing jobs to St. James Parish, the proposed facility is also expected to have other economic impacts on the area. These include tax benefits and community investments.
“There’s a lot to like in this,” said Normand.
Listen here to learn more about the project.