President Obama's Biomass Refinery In His "Home State" Will Be Closed; Another One Bites The Dust -- March 101, 2017

Will shutter. As in will be closed. It appears Honeywell got all the tax credits it needed out of this project. Time to move on. Maybe they can convert the site to a outdoor water park. The piping would all be in place, read to go.

This is how it all started:

• 2011
• under President Obama
• US Dept of Energy
• $25 million award to Honeywell
• biomass demonstration project 
• $26/gallon algae jet fuel for the US Air Force / US Navy

The story:

UOP has begun construction in Hawaii of a biofuels demonstration unit that will convert forest residuals, algae and other cellulosic biomass into green transportation fuels. Backed by a $25 million U.S. Department of Energy award, the Honeywell UOPIntegrated Biorefinery will upgrade biomass into high-quality renewable gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

The project is part of the DOE’s efforts to help spur the creation of the domestic biofuel industry, drive domestic job creation and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

The project will also support the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goal to achieve 70 percent clean energy by the year 2030. Located at the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Kapolei, the Integrated Biorefinery will be used to demonstrate viability of the technology, test the fuels produced and evaluate the environmental footprint of the fuels and the process technology. The project, which will generate more than 80 new jobs during construction, is scheduled to begin initial production in 2012. It is expected to be fully operational by 2014.

UOP: Universal Oil Products.

Now, five years later: shuttered.

And all that stuff about "reducing US dependence on foreign oil"? Back in 2011, the Bakken was just beginning to hit its stride. Harold Hamm did more to reduce US dependence on foreign oil than any government program.

Another One Bites The Dust, Queen