Solena begins planning biojet plant

Within the next 12 months renewable energy company Solena is looking to submit a planning application for a biofuels production plant.

Expected to cost between $300 and $350 million (€209-244 million), the plant, which could be located in Gilroy, California, US, will produce 16 million gallons a year of renewable jet fuel.

However, the company still has a lot of development work to complete before seeking permission from the city of Gilroy to build the plant. Solena must also draft an environmental impact report and answer questions put forward by the local residents.

'Is there going to be odour? What about some sort of upset, in environmental terms? How would they handle an earthquake, how would they handle a fire or handle a terrorist attack?' says city administrator Tom Haglund. 'We've asked for more information that's never been forthcoming. Assuming all that would work out, we'd love to be the site of a company like that.'

As Solena's vice president of business development Rocio Velez explains: 'Before we present any plans or permits to the appropriate authorities, additional development work needs to be completed that will allow us to present a comprehensive planning application and corresponding permits for the overall benefit of the community and the project. Solena must consult with the local community compressively in the months before we finalise our planning application.'

If Solena's planning application is successful, the plant could begin producing biojet fuel by 2015 and create around 200 fulltime jobs.

'We're hoping by the year 2015 they will be able to produce biomass to fuel liquid for an aircraft,' American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely says. 'It's something that would lower emissions of greenhouse gasses pollutants that petroleum-based fuels have.'