Par Pacific invests $90M in renewable-fuel facility

Houston-based Par Pacific Holdings Inc. said Thursday it plans to invest about $90 million to develop Hawaii’s largest liquid renewable fuels manufacturing facility at the company’s Kapolei refinery.

The project relies on the refinery’s operating team, existing tank storage and related logistics, as well as available hydrogen from current refining operations, a key requirement for low-carbon renewable fuel production. The project is expected to be completed for less than $1.50 per gallon of annual operating capacity and is expected to be commissioned in 2025.

The unit can produce up to 60% sustainable aviation fuel in a first step toward decarbonizing Hawaii’s significant air travel market.

“This project represents a key milestone in our renewable fuels strategy, which supplements our conventional fuels production in Hawaii,” Par Pacific CEO William Pate said in a statement. “The expansion ensures that Par Hawaii, with its high-paying local manufacturing jobs, will be the leading supplier of liquid fuels to the Hawaii economy now and into the future.”

The renewable fuel facility is expected to produce approximately 61 million gallons per year of renewable diesel; sustainable aviation fuel; renewable naphtha, a flammable oil containing various hydrocarbons; and liquefied petroleum gases. These renewable fuels lower greenhouse gas emissions.

“Given this project’s feedstock requirements, the state is well positioned to drive an additional major economic benefit by creating a market for locally grown oil seed crops,” Eric Wright, president of Par Hawaii, Par Pacific’s local subsidiary, said in a statement. “The creative redevelopment of a portion of our refining system is an excellent example of our team’s technical strength to deliver renewable fuel solutions that supplement our existing operations.”

The announcement coincides with Par Pacific’s authorization from the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone Board to use foreign-sourced vegetable oil to supplement locally sourced renewable feedstocks. Par Hawaii is working with Hawaii-­based Pono Pacific in the planting of camelina crops to test the suitability of that oil seed for state production.