World Energy, a carbon-net-zero solutions provider, on May 2 announced that the California Energy Commission awarded the company a $2 million grant for its Blending Terminal Project in Paramount, California. The CEC approved the grant, named the "Ultra-Low-Carbon Fuel: Commercial-Scale Production Facilities & Blending Infrastructure" program, during its April 26, 2022 business meeting. World Energy's project will increase low-carbon fuel production and shift truck deliveries to rail, driving down emissions and improving air quality in Paramount and surrounding communities.

"This project will help scale up in-state low-carbon fuel blending while reducing local air pollution," said Patty Monahan, commissioner, California Energy Commission. "While California is committed to a zero emission transportation future, drop-in biofuels can cut greenhouse gas emissions in today's vehicles and will play a critical role in decarbonizing on-road transportation emissions in medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sectors that are more difficult to electrify."

Through the project, biodiesel will be delivered via the existing rail infrastructure, eliminating thousands of fuel tanker trucks from traveling local streets, reducing traffic, and emissions. Renewable diesel produced at the Paramount facility will be blended with biodiesel on-site in the truck loading racks. When completed, the project will increase the efficiency and throughput of World Energy's blending capabilities, delivering at least 156 million gallons per year of blended renewable diesel and biodiesel to the California market in 2024 and beyond. The increased volume and availability of higher-blend biofuels will improve local environmental and economic benefits.

"World Energy's transformation of its facility to producing 100 percent sustainable fuel is good for the planet and it's good for our City," said Paramount Mayor Vilma Cuellar Stallings. "Locally, the refinery will never again deal with petroleum products, which of course will be healthy for our residents. We welcome this change."

"True decarbonization is going to require the mobilization of resources unlike anything the world has ever seen. It won't happen without the public and private sectors acting in unison," said Gene Gebolys, CEO, World Energy. "The CEC is showing the world how that can and should be done. We are endlessly grateful to our California public sector partners for their support of our efforts to drive the frontier for California based decarbonization solutions." 

World Energy has led the commercialization, production, and distribution of low-carbon fuels for more than 20 years and has tackled the world's most difficult decarbonization challenges. In 2020, World Energy's fuels accounted for a reduction in 480,881 metric tons of carbon, the equivalent of taking 100,000+ cars off the road. World Energy continues to invest billions into finding new and innovative ways to drive down the carbon intensity of each gallon it produces while scaling the availability of its urgently needed solutions. The company operates the world's first and North America's only commercial-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility. Its innovative and award-winning SAF solution can reduce aircraft carbon emissions by up to 85 percent and is used by industry leaders including Amazon Air, United, JetBlue, Rolls-Royce, and Boeing to achieve low-carbon transport.

In 2021, World Energy was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the USDA for the Blending Terminal Project. The grant money funded the installation of safety infrastructure, piping and upgraded biodiesel equipment.