(Credit: Pixabay)ExxonMobil has signed an agreement with Global Clean Energy Holdings to purchase 2.5 million barrels of renewable diesel per year for five years from a converted California refinery starting in 2022.
The renewable diesel will be sourced from a refinery acquired by Global Clean Energy in Bakersfield, California, which is being retooled to produce renewable diesel from Global Clean Energy’s patented varieties of camelina, a fallow land crop that does not displace food crops, and other non-petroleum feedstocks. Following scheduled production startup in 2022, ExxonMobil plans to distribute the renewable diesel within California and potentially to other domestic and international markets.
In addition to camelina, various non-petroleum feedstocks, including used cooking oil, soybean oil, distillers’ corn oil and other renewable sources will be refined to produce the renewable diesel.
Based on analysis of California Air Resources Board (CARB) data, renewable diesel from various non-petroleum feedstocks can provide life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions reductions of approximately 40 percent to 80% compared to petroleum-based diesel.
Last July, CARB approved a rule that requires fixed route airport shuttles serving the state’s 13 largest airports to transition to 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The regulation applies to public and private fleets, including parking facilities, rental car agencies and hotels.
