Diamond Green Diesel to begin SAF production by end of 2024
Diamond Green Diesel (DGD) said that it is expected to begin sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production at the Port Arthur Plant from fourth quarter of 2024.
“The SAF project at the DGD Port Arthur plant is progressing ahead of schedule and is now expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a total cost of $315m, half of which is attributable to Valero,” said the company in its operational update.
DGD Port Arthur plant is owned and operated by Diamond Green Diesel Holdings – a joint venture between Valero and Darling.
The project is expected to give the plant the optionality to upgrade approximately 50% of its current 470m gallon renewable diesel annual production capacity towards SAF. With the completion of this project, DGD is expected to become one of the largest manufacturers of SAF in the world with the nameplate SAF production capacity of 235m gallons.
DGD is one of the largest renewable diesel production in the US. In addition to the 470m gallon plant in Port Arthur, Texas, the company also operates another plant in Norco, Louisiana with the production capacity of 982MMgal per annum.
Renewable diesel producers in the US can divert production towards SAF as their plants can readily produce the renewable jet fuel using the bio feedstocks with slight technological upgrades.
With declining RIN prices, renewable producers are exploring SAF as the potential replacement for their existing renewable diesel production sites.
Valero Energy also reported its financial results wherein the company report net income attributable to Valero stockholders of $1.2bn, or $3.75 per share, for the first quarter of 2024.
Valero’s renewable diesel segment – Diamond Green Diesel – reported $190m of operating income for the first quarter of 2024, compared to $205m for the first quarter of 2023.
Segment sales volumes averaged 3.7m gallons per day in the first quarter of 2024, which was 741 thousand gallons per day higher than the first quarter of 2023.