Phillips 66 is prepared to meet growing demand for renewable energy

Demand for renewable energy will grow in North America in the next two decades, and Phillips 66 will be ready to meet it.

That was the message from Phillips 66 San Francisco Refinery Manager Jolie Rhinehart, who recently spoke at the Argus North American Biofuels, LCFS & Carbon Markets Summit in Monterey, Calif.

“People want to lower the carbon intensity of their fuels and to maintain their quality of life,” she said. “The result is that demand for renewable energy will continue to rise.”

At the summit’s keynote panel on the future of the North American biofuels market, Rhinehart explained how Phillips 66’s current efforts at its San Francisco Refinery are helping to prepare the company to meet rising demand.   

“We currently have a unit that processes up to 12,000 BPD of renewable feedstock to produce renewable diesel,” she said. “And we are converting our entire facility to process just renewable feedstocks into primarily renewable diesel and renewable jet that can be blended to produce sustainable aviation fuel.”  

These renewable feedstocks may include waste oils, fats, greases and vegetable oils. Renewable diesel is a drop-in fuel that can be used in any traditional diesel vehicle, while renewable jet must be blended with traditional petroleum jet to create a blended sustainable aviation fuel that is used to power aircraft.

The Rodeo Renewed project is expected to begin renewable fuels production by the first quarter of 2024 and will reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by approximately 65%.

Helping to grow demand for renewable fuels, said Rhinehart, are lower carbon intensity targets in places like California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, with the implementation of low-carbon fuel standard incentives.

While Rhinehart says there is still work to be done on regulatory reform to allow projects like Rodeo Renewed to have less hurdles to cross, she believes the market has quickly made substantial strides. “If you look back even one or two years ago, people were asking whether there would be sufficient quantities of renewable feedstocks available to supply Rodeo Renewed,” she said. “Actually, the renewable feedstocks market has continued to grow and expand in even this short timeframe.”