Construction is set to begin in a month on a $100 million renewable fuel plant in Jeanerette that will convert sugar cane bagasse into fuel pellets.
Delta Biofuel announced in July 2021 it would build a $70 million plant on a 16-acre site off U.S. Highway 90, near the Enterprise Sugar Mill. The facility was set to begin operations in late 2022-early 2023.
But supply chain issues and pricing volatility threw the plans off, Philip Keating, Delta Biofuel CEO, said in an email. “And then the interest rate spike forced us to make adjustments,” he said. “Only in the last several months could we actually lock in pricing for major equipment and construction with confidence.”
As a result, Delta’s investment has increased, due to higher labor and equipment costs and the company’s decision to boost annual capacity from 300,000 metric tons of fuel pellets to 340,000 metric tons.
The plant will create 126 jobs, with an average salary of $62,500, Louisiana Economic Development said. Another 149 indirect jobs will be created in Acadiana, LED said.
The plant should start up about a year after construction begins, Keating said. LED has said the project will create 100 construction jobs at its peak.
Finding a use for bagasse, the waste product left after sugarcane is crushed, is becoming more of an issue in south Louisiana. More sugarcane is being grown, and fewer sugar mills are operating, so piles of bagasse are getting larger.
Delta Biofuel will harvest bagasse from sugar mills in Iberia, St. Mary and St. Martin parishes. The pellets will be used by European power plants that are transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Louisiana lured the project with an incentive package that includes a $1 million performance-based grant for infrastructure improvements. Delta Biofuel has been approved for the state’s Industrial Tax Exemption program and has applied for the Quality Jobs program.
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