Site work begins on Omega Green renewable diesel, SAF project in Paraguay

BSBios Paraguay has begun preliminary infrastructure and preparatory work in November, according to parent company ECB Group, before construction can start on the $1 billion Omega Green project scaled to produce approximately 300 million gallons of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year. The biorefinery, which is planning to use soybean oil, animal fats, used cooking oil and pongamia oil, is expected to be operational in 2025.

The project update was reported directly to Paraguay’s president, Mario Abdo Benítez, in a meeting held Nov. 15. During the meeting, Luis Alberto Castiglioni, Paraguay’s minister of industry and trade, delivered Resolution No. 723, declaring the project of institutional interest to the nation, to ECB Group CEO Carlos Battistella.

Resolution No. 723 establishes that the project “will represent a high impact on the national and local economy, since it is a venture that aims at the socioeconomic development of the region, the generation of direct and indirect jobs from the construction to the full operation of the project, by enabling productive linkage between agricultural, industrial and service sectors and promoting the use of the energy and natural resources of our country to generate export products with high added value and advanced technology.”

Several other dignitaries were present at the meeting.

“The declaration of institutional support by the Paraguayan state to the project reaffirms our partnership with the country and defines Omega Green as of national interest, strengthening its image before international investment agencies,” Battistella said. “This distinction reflects the importance of an initiative that generates green jobs and GDP.”

The initial Omega Green project construction work has started on a new 484-hectare site acquired by the company in Villeta, 28 miles from the capital city of Asunción. The site borders a highway, the Paraguay River, and is only 330 feet from a power substation.

“The land brings us the opportunity to house future expansions, with wider space for the development of the port, as well as allowing us to receive strategic partners who may invest in related activities,” Battistella said.

The Omega Green project was first announced in early 2019.