Whatcom County, Ericksen push to revive proposed renewable diesel plant near Ferndale
Whatcom County is reaching out to the companies behind a proposed, but recently scrapped, renewable diesel plant near Ferndale to see if the project can be revived.
Phillips 66 and Renewable Energy Group Inc. announced on Tuesday, Jan. 21, that they were withdrawing from the project, surprising regulators and an environmental group. A release blamed “permitting delays and uncertainties” for the decision.
Phillips 66 and Renewable Energy Group had formed Green Apple Renewable Fuels to build the plant.
Newly elected County Executive Satpal Sidhu indicated in a release on Friday, Jan. 24, that the county has reached out to both companies to see if there is anything it can do to help resolve those uncertainties.
“We are all surprised with this sudden announcement by Phillips 66 to withdraw from the Green Apple Project partnership,” Sidhu said in a statement.
“This is the kind of project that is much-needed in our county and our nation to transition to renewable fuels. I believe this project had several tangible benefits to our community and the whole region — like an economic boost and high-wage jobs, a transition pathway to renewable fuels and substantial capital investment in our county,” Sidhu added.
Just last week, the Washington State Department of Ecology was asking the public to say what should be included in an environmental review of the plant and Whatcom County government also was accepting public comment for what was called a notice of application for a major project permit.
And meetings to provide information about the project to the public had been set for early February.
Announced in November 2018, the project would have produced 250 million gallons of renewable fuel, primarily diesel, per year — resulting in the largest renewable diesel refinery on the West Coast, according to the companies’ release.
It would have been built on about 40 acres of land at the Phillips 66 refinery property at 3901 Unick Road, in the Cherry Point Urban Growth Area.
Restart the project?
“We appreciate the many efforts that folks are taking to look for some resolution. We’ll certainly be open to those conversations,” Tim Johnson, director of Public and Government Affairs for the Phillips 66 refinery near Ferndale, said to The Bellingham Herald on Friday.
In a previous interview, Johnson said what was at issue was the determination of significance recently issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology and Whatcom County government, which in turn triggered a requirement for an environmental impact statement.
That requirement added two years for permitting and that placed the project at risk for not being online until 2024 — putting the project at a competitive disadvantage to other renewable projects out of state, Johnson previously said to The Herald.
In its release, the county indicated its process has not changed over the last decade for such large-scale projects.
Still, the release indicated “the county is always eager to hear new ideas from prospective project owners to make its process more efficient and owner-friendly.”
Johnson said Phillips would have to see if there was an option to reduce regulatory uncertainty to make the project viable.
“At this point, I don’t know what that looks like but we are open to discussions about it,” Johnson said.
In the release announcing the decision to withdraw from the project, Renewable Energy Group said it was “disappointed.”
Its representatives have not responded to requests for additional comment.
In response to the announcement that both companies wouldn’t be building the plant after all, Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, said in a statement that he would push to revive the project.
“We are working very hard to restart the Green Apple project. We are working with the governor’s office and reaching out to other interested parties to establish a pathway forward. We will leave no stone unturned,” said Ericksen, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee.
Johnson estimated the project would have created up to 650 construction jobs and operating the plant would have provided up to 100 full-time, family-wage jobs.
Phillips hasn’t provided an exact estimate for the project’s cost, but Johnson said comparable projects elsewhere have cost $800 million to $1 billion.
“This project is of vital importance to Whatcom County and the working families of northwest Washington,” Ericksen said in his statement. “Not only is this a billion-dollar investment in our area’s economic future, it is an investment in new fuel technologies that will benefit our environment.”
Had it been built, the project would have processed fats and grease as well as cooking and vegetable oils into renewable fuels.
The primary fuel produced would have been renewable diesel, with some renewable naphtha and renewable propane and possibly renewable jet fuel, according to a project application.
