Aemetis, a renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable fuels company focused on below-zero carbon intensity products, announced the purchase of 24 acres (9.7 ha), known as “Parcel B” on the Riverbank Industrial Complex site, to develop a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) injection well. The company plans to construct a characterization well to obtain required data and final injection well design information that will be used for the EPA Class VI carbon dioxide (CO2) injection well permit application for the sequestration of approximately 1 MTPA of CO2. “The Riverbank Parcel B land purchase secures the key site for 1 million annual tonnes of planned CO2 injection to reduce the carbon intensity of Aemetis biofuels and sequester CO2 from other California industrial and agricultural sources,” said Eric McAfee, chair and CEO of Aemetis. “We have completed engineering and filed permits to drill a characterization well on the site as the next step in our CCS project, helping to close the gap on essential climate mitigation actions that can be accomplished today.”
The Aemetis carbon sequestration project has attracted companies in the engineering, design, and construction of facilities for CO2 compression and injection. After several years of negotiations and approvals, in December 2021 Aemetis signed an agreement with the City of Riverbank to purchase the 125-acre (50.6 ha) former military base in California known as the Riverbank Industrial Complex. The agreement leased the entire 125-acre facility to Aemetis until US Army and other approvals are obtained for the transfer of site ownership to Aemetis. The purchase of the 24-acre Parcel B is the first land acquisition completed under the agreement.
The Riverbank facility features 710,000 square feet of existing industrial and commercial buildings with more than 30 existing commercial tenants; a four-mile railroad loop with a 120-railcar storage capacity; and a 20-MW onsite electric substation with 100% low-carbon hydroelectric power. The Riverbank facility has an approved Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for development and has received more than US$72 million of federal funding for facility upgrades and remediation since being decommissioned as a US Army base primarily focused on ammunition production.
