THE COUNTY • November 15, 2024
Plans are still underway to build a $4.13 billion sustainable aviation fuel facility at the former Loring Air Force Base, according to developers. In 2022, Washington D.C.-based DG Fuels announced its intentions to build within 1,240 acres of property at the Loring Commerce Center, creating 2,300 jobs during construction and 650 jobs once production begins. DG Fuels plans to revive an underground pipeline that once transported jet fuel from the Maine coastal town of Searsport to Loring Air Force Base. DG Fuels would use the pipeline to transport 33,500 barrels (557,500 gallons) of jet fuel from Loring to Searsport daily for shipment to airports along the northeastern U.S. DG Fuels expects to produce 190 million gallons of jet fuel at Loring every year using 1.7 million tons of wood biomass that would be transferred to Loring via local rail lines. Six biomass gasifiers would then use heat, steam and oxygen to convert biomass to hydrogen without needing combustion.