NEXT Renewable Fuels Selects 94 Acres to Lease From Port of Columbia County For Advanced Green Diesel Production Facility

Portland, OR - March 20, 2019 - NEXT Renewable Fuels has selected 94 acres to lease from the Port of Columbia County for development of the company’s Advanced Green Diesel production facility.

This 94-acre parcel, which is currently being rezoned, is adjacent to the 25-acre parcel NEXT recently purchased from the Teevin Bros, providing a contiguous 119-acre site where NEXT will develop a facility to produce up to 37,500 barrels per day of Advanced Green Diesel.

“By selecting this parcel of port property, NEXT is affirming its commitment to Port Westward and Columbia County.

"We will be working closely with the Port and other stakeholders to successfully complete the rezoning of these 94 acres while we move forward with the development and permitting of our other property at the Port,” said NEXT President Lou Soumas.

"We are encouraged in this latest step to bring a renewable, environmentally friendly energy product to the Port District.

"This commodity is the logical way forward in weaning ourselves off greenhouse-producing fossil fuels while maintaining the level of energy output we are all accustomed to,” said Doug Hayes, executive director of the Port of Columbia County.

Specifically, the Port and NEXT have amended the Site Development and Option Agreement, which they entered into on Sept. 12, 2018, to reflect NEXT’s selection of the 94-acre property adjacent to its existing 25-acre plot.

The planned Advanced Green Diesel production facility is projected to create more than 200 full-time, family-wage jobs, generate more than $12 million a year in local property tax revenues, and pay more than $5.5 million Port fees.

NEXT recently signed an MOU with the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council and the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters for construction of the NEXT Facility, an anticipated $1.1 billion investment.

For more information, please contact Liz Fuller at 503-552-5067 or media@nextrenewables.com