MONROE, La. – Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will announce a $1 billion biodiesel project Friday at the Port of Columbia on the Ouachita River in Caldwell Parish.
Edwards signaled the announcement on his monthly radio show Wednesday on WRKF.
State Rep. Neil Riser, a Republican from Columbia, said the biodiesel plant “is a huge, dynamic project that we’ve been working on for two years.”
He gave credit to Edwards for signing off on the project by directing millions in federal money toward the deal.
“This is a project on a scale that we’ve never had in Caldwell Parish and may never have again,” said Riser, who said the total investment will be about $1 billion with an initial $200 million investment. “It wouldn’t have happened without the governor’s support.”
Riser said the biodiesel plant will convert pine trees into fuel and capture the carbon emitted into a well to secure lucrative carbon credits that make the project affordable.
