The U.S. Department of Energy announced this week a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $1.44 billion to Montana Renewables, LLC (MRL).
MRL is a subsidiary of Calumet, which operates the refinery in Great Falls.
A news release from the U.S. Department of Energy says the project is expected to create, at its peak, 450 construction jobs and up to 40 new operations jobs.
The loan guarantee, if finalized, will help finance the expansion of a renewable fuels facility in Great Falls that will utilize vegetable oils, fats, and greases to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel (RD), and renewable naphtha (RN).
The MRL facility has been in operation since late 2022, currently producing about 140 million gallons per year of biofuels, most of which is renewable diesel.
The loan guarantee would fund facility expansion to produce about 315 million gallons per year of biofuels, most of which will be SAF.
