Cool Planet Energy Systems Announces $168 Million Investment In Louisiana Bio-Refineries

ALEXANDRIA, La. — Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal and Cool Planet Energy Systems President and CEO Howard Janzen announced the company will build three bio-refineries in Louisiana with a capital investment of $168 million. The project will consist of modular biomass-to-gasoline refineries in Alexandria, Natchitoches and a site to be determined. Cool Planet will create 72 new direct jobs, averaging $59,600 per year, plus benefits. Additionally, LED estimates the project will result in 422 new indirect jobs, for a total of 494 new jobs. The company estimates 750 construction jobs will also be created by the project.

Gov. Jindal said, “These bio-refineries are great news for Alexandria, Natchitoches and our entire state. For decades, Louisiana’s oil and gas leaders have teamed up with our remarkable workforce to pave the way in energy production for our nation and the world. Because of our constantly improving business climate, abundance of resources and dedicated workforce, we are now setting the pace for innovative new technologies that harness Louisiana’s renewable energy resources and supply advanced fuels to meet our nation’s energy demands.

“Through companies like Cool Planet Energy Systems, Louisiana is delivering tomorrow’s technology today and providing our workers with even more opportunities. Cool Planet could have invested anywhere in the world, but they chose our state because of our strong business climate, vast oil and gas infrastructure and our world-class energy workforce. Wins like these Cool Planet facilities create great new career opportunities for our people as we work to make Louisiana the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family.”

Cool Planet will begin construction in January 2014, with the first site at the Port of Alexandria beginning operations in late 2014. Construction will begin on the second bio-refinery at the Port of Natchitoches by the summer of 2015, with a completion date in the summer of 2016. The third site is scheduled to come online in late 2016 at a Louisiana site to be determined. Cool Planet also will establish a regional office at the Port of Alexandria, where the City of Alexandria plans to make more than $500,000 in infrastructure improvements.

Cool Planet will harvest wood waste and forest byproducts to make gasoline at its initial commercial-scale facilities in Louisiana. Each bio-refinery will be capable of producing 10 million gallons of high-octane, low-vapor pressure gasoline for strategic distribution through existing market channels and for blending at Louisiana refineries. The fuel will be compatible for use in existing vehicles on the road today. The company’s business model calls for developing 400 of the micro-refineries across the U.S. in the next decade. Major Cool Planet investors include BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips and NRG Energy), North Bridge Venture Partners, Shea Ventures and the Constellation division of Exelon.

Using a proprietary process, Denver-based Cool Planet also will market biochar, a byproduct of the refining process that will be used as an agricultural supplement to boost water retention and reduce carbon released from crops. This process makes Cool Planet’s overall production cycle a carbon-negative process – meaning the project will achieve a net reduction of greenhouse gases.

“Cool Planet chose Louisiana for multiple reasons, including abundant renewable feedstock supply and a business-friendly attitude toward innovative companies like ours,” Cool Planet Energy Systems CEO Howard Janzen said. “The support we have seen here enhances our unique distributed production model, which envisions locating small bio-refineries near biomass sources to keep both operating and capital costs low. Our goal is to have operating and capital costs that are competitive with conventional oil industry gasoline production costs.”

Additionally, the projects will benefit Louisiana’s timber industry. Cool Planet recently met in Washington, D.C., with both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that the wood residues the company will be using in its first commercial facility will be federally certified as producing a renewable, cellulosic gasoline from the sustainably harvested wood products in Louisiana.

Cool Planet will be able to use wood residues — such as the tops of trees, branches, tree bark and tree thinnings — that will create additional value for Louisiana forest owners and timber management companies. The wood chips that Cool Planet uses are sustainably harvested and included as part of the federally approved pathway for the renewable fuel standard.

In addition to the renewable, high-octane gasoline to be produced, Cool Planet will be returning a portion of the wood residues back to the land. The company will do this in the form of soil-enhancing biochar, with a patented process that helps maintain critical water and nutrients in the soil. The whole process has the ability to reduce greenhouse gases by 150 percent over conventional gasoline, creating a win for the environment, the agricultural community and the State of Louisiana.

The City of Alexandria will provide gas, water, sewer and electrical upgrades, along with road improvements at the 30-acre Port of Alexandria site. Upriver from Alexandria, the Natchitoches Parish Port will provide a Red River site for Cool Planet’s second bio-refinery in Louisiana.

“Alexandria is very excited to contribute resources to the economic development of our area. This development will help attract new business to the area and create new jobs,” said Alexandria Mayor Jacques M. Roy. “Alexandria is serious about creating a highly desirable environment for business development. This is precisely the type of smart technology we want to support – capitalizing on our principal resource of timber – and seeing the Alexandria region continue to attract and house biofuel companies. In addition to timber and healthcare, this niche is attractive and even in its infancy very notable as a future capacity here at home – not only an important accomplishment for the industry, but a critical step toward a viable alternative energy future for the nation.”

“We are thrilled that Cool Planet Energy Systems has chosen the Port of Alexandria as the location for its first commercial bio-refinery,” said Norman Welch, Alexandria Port Commission member. “We look forward to partnering with Cool Planet to not only make this first facility a success, but also to accommodate the company’s future plans to expand in Central Louisiana.”

Cool Planet’s production plants will be 100 times smaller than a typical oil refinery, but the company’s largely prefabricated systems can be moved near concentrated biomass sources, reducing transportation costs and increasing efficiency. Those savings will enable the company to produce gasoline that’s competitive with oil refineries at prices as low as $50 per barrel while eliminating the need for government fuel credits or subsidies.

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with Cool Planet Energy Systems on their new bio-refinery at the Natchitoches Parish Port,” said President Ralph Ingram Jr. of the Natchitoches Port Commission. “The proposed facility will be a tremendous asset for not only the port but also for Natchitoches Parish and the surrounding area.”

“We are very excited that Cool Planet Energy Systems is not only creating new jobs for our local economy but doing it in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Natchitoches Parish President Rick Nowlin.

LED began working with Cool Planet on potential Louisiana locations in September 2012. To secure the project, Louisiana offered the company a competitive incentive package that includes a $750,000 Economic Development Award Program grant to offset infrastructure costs, along with the services of LED FastStart® – the nation’s No. 1-ranked state workforce training program. Cool Planet also is expected to utilize the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.

“Cool Planet’s decision to invest in Central Louisiana reinforces two important messages,” said President Jim Clinton of the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. “First, Central Louisiana is a great location for making things. And second, Central Louisiana is emerging as a national leader in high-tech biomass and renewable energy applications. We are very pleased to welcome Cool Planet to Alexandria and Natchitoches, and we look forward to their continued growth in the region.”

“North Louisiana Economic Partnership and the Natchitoches community are pleased to welcome Cool Planet Energy Systems to North Louisiana,” NLEP President Scott Martinez said. “Cool Planet’s environmentally friendly bio-refineries produce more than just fuel from wood waste, the plants produce much-needed jobs for the area.”

About Cool Planet 
Headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo., outside Denver, and with research facilities in Camarillo, Calif., Cool Planet is deploying disruptive technology through capital-efficient, small-scale bio-refineries, to economically convert nonfood biomass into high-octane gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel. The process also generates value through biochar production, which can be returned to the soil, enabling fertilizer and water retention for increased crop productivity and more robust plant health. The process can be carbon-negative, removing up to 150 percent of the carbon footprint for every gallon used, reversing the consequences of fossil fuels. Cool Planet’s technology has a broad portfolio of pending and granted patents. Global investors include BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy) and the Constellation division of Exelon. For more information, visit www.coolplanet.com.

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