Cooling Water/Geothermal Extension For Red Rock Biofuels
Lakeview, Oregon provides the ideal combination of proximity to feedstock, transportation and community support for our first-of-its-kind Red Rock Biofuels project. This southeastern area of Oregon offers an abundant source of waste woody biomass, and excellent transportation access to the major low carbon fuel markets in the United States and Canada. Situated in the radius of the Lakeview site is 8.5 million acres of usable forests – Red Rock only needs access to 25,000 acres a year to meet its capabilities of converting 166,000 tons of waste woody biomass into 15 million gallons per year of biofuel.
Project: Convert approximately 166,000 dry tons of waste woody biomass into 16.1 million gallons/year of low-carbon, renewable jet and diesel fuels.
Site: Lakeview, OR is ideally situated amid abundant feedstock and excellent access to State Highway 395 and adjacent to the short line rail infrastructure.
Process Design & Technology: World-class technology. Gasification, Fischer-Tropsch refining, and hydro-processing. Yields ASTM-approved fuels in use around the world today. Fuel Offtakes: World-class logistics/marketing partner and airline partners.
Funding: Project funded by a combination of bonds and equity.
Strong Management Team: A track record of delivering projects under budget, ahead of schedule, and producing over nameplate capacity. Developed/financed/built 8 renewable fuel plants; >$650 million in construction value; >325 million gal/yr.
EPC: IR1 Group LLC.
“This bio-refinery marks a turning point,” said Red Rock CFO Jeff Manternach at last year’s groundbreaking ceremony. “It will keep our forests healthy by using waste biomass before it burns up. It will help this mill town continue to be a place where things are made. Critically, it will provide renewable low-carbon fuels to combat climate change.”
A new railroad spur is being built that will unload fuel onto rail cars, as well as a six-inch natural gas pipeline to tap into the Ruby Pipeline near Lakeview.
Red Rock will operate utilizing a method of synthetic fuel production first engineered by Germany during World War II known as the Fischer-Tropsch process. By heating woody biomass such as tree limbs, sawdust and pine needles to 1800 degrees in an oxygen-free environment, the materials convert to a gas that is placed in long hydrocarbon chains. Those chains are then run through a hydrocrack and cut into fuel.
The process is already utilized around the world on coal and natural gas, but Red Rock’s approach of using waste products is a new concept that will help with forest health by reducing fire fuels and reduce carbon footprints that adversely impact climate change. Around 136,000 tons of waste will be processed at the facility annually, creating millions of gallons of fuel to be sold to Southwest Airlines, FedEx, and the U.S. military.
Anderson Engineering & Surveying in Lakeview for joining the project to handle civil work and surveying on site. With other projects ongoing in the region, including solar developments, Red Rock has pulled in crews from Klamath Falls and Medford to work on the site.
Red Rock Biofuels’ story began over a decade ago with the desire to revolutionize the development of reliable and eco-friendly biofuels that can solve today’s decarbonization challenges and residual risks from forest fires. Red Rock’s co-founders brought together a team with more than 150 combined years of experience in biofuel development and operations to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems.
525 North 1st Street
Lakeview, Oregon 97630
M-F 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
(541) 947-2020
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