The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has announced the closing of a $1.67 billion loan guarantee to Montana Renewables, LLC (MRL). This amount includes $1.44 billion in principal and $233 million in capitalised interest. The loan will support the expansion of a renewable fuels facility in Montana, enabling the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel, and renewable naphtha. The facility will utilise vegetable oils, fats, and greases to produce cleaner fuels.
Furthermore, the Montana Renewables facility has been operational since late 2022. It currently produces approximately 140 million gallons of biofuels annually, with the majority being renewable diesel. The loan guarantee will fund the expansion to increase production to around 315 million gallons per year, the majority of which will be SAF. Once this project is operational at full capacity it is expected to account for about half of North American SAF output and roughly 12 per cent of global SAF by 2030.
Earlier in October 2024, US Department of Energy (DOE) announced nearly $2 billion in funding for 38 projects aimed at strengthening the nation’s power grid. The projects, under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program, introduced advanced transmission and distribution infrastructure and technological upgrades to support over 7.5 GW of grid capacity.
