One of the world’s largest renewable biofuels production facilities may be coming to Louisiana. Toronto-based Woodland Biofuels, Inc. has announced a planned $1.35 billion investment at the Globalplex multimodal facility at the Port of South Louisiana in Reserve. The St. John Parish production facility would utilize waste biomass to produce sustainable biofuel used in transportation, heating, and electricity generation. A front-end engineering design (FEED) study for the site is anticipated to be finalized by the second quarter of 2025, with a final investment decision expected by the end of next year. Commercial operations for the first phase of the project – the renewable natural gas production plant – are projected to start in 2028. “Woodland is thrilled to announce that we plan to build right here at the Port of South Louisiana the world’s largest carbon-negative RNG facility,” said Woodland Biofuels CEO Greg Nuttall. “Our sustainable biofuel plant will be an economic driver for St. John Parish and beyond. We look forward to establishing deep ties with the local community, drawing on the existing world-class workforce, and utilizing Louisiana’s exceptional infrastructure to execute on our project.” Louisiana Economic Development estimates that the project would result in 259 indirect new jobs for a total of 369 potential new jobs. Woodlands Biofuels estimates that the project would create approximately 500 construction jobs through the construction of the facility and 110 direct new jobs with an average annual salary of more than $90,000, upon completion of the facility. LED worked with Woodland Biofuels on a competitive incentives package that includes a $10 million performance-based grant for infrastructure improvements and workforce development solutions through LED FastStart. The company is also expected to participate in the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. “With a multigenerational skilled workforce and abundant natural resources, there is no place in the world better positioned to help energy companies grow and thrive,” said Susan Bourgeois, LED Secretary. “Woodland Biofuels’ project would bring high-paying jobs to the great people of St. John the Baptist Parish for years to come. The state looks forward to working with the company to bring this project to completion.” Port of South Louisiana is the second ranked port in the nation for energy transfer. “This significant investment by Woodland Biofuels to construct the world’s largest carbon negative renewable natural gas plant and a large-scale green hydrogen facility at our Globalplex Intermodal Terminal proves that PortSL and the state of Louisiana are leading the way in diversifying our energy industry, which will result in the creation of hundreds of high-paying jobs for River Region families,” said Port of South Louisiana CEO Paul Matthews.