Black Gold Equity Backs $3 Billion Woody Biomass SAF Biorefinery in Washington

A $3 billion sustainable aviation fuel biorefinery planned for Longview, Washington, has secured a financing partnership with private equity platform Black Gold Equity Partners, moving the project from concept toward construction.

Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels (NWABF) executed the agreement with Black Gold Equity Partners to provide initial development funding and financial structuring for the facility. The company aims to build one of the largest woody biomass-based SAF production plants in the United States, with groundbreaking targeted for late 2027. The timeline lands as airlines and regional transportation hubs prepare for stricter low-carbon fuel mandates taking effect across domestic and international markets through 2030.

What feedstock will the plant run on?

The facility's engineering design relies on forest floor waste, wood slash, and sawmill residuals. NWABF plans to source the material through commercial timber management and partnership agreements with local American Indian Tribes across Washington State.

Converting low-value wood waste into aviation fuel aims to reduce regional forest fire risks while generating a secondary revenue stream for forestry operators and Tribal communities. The design also includes military veteran community initiatives and support for first-responder housing programs.

The refined SAF is engineered to achieve lifecycle greenhouse gas emission reductions exceeding 90% compared to conventional fossil jet fuel. The fuel must meet ASTM compliance standards. NWABF also claims the product would eliminate direct particulate matter and sulfur oxide emissions during airport operations across Pacific Northwest and U.S. West Coast aviation hubs.

How much capital and what local impact?

The project is projected to mobilize upwards of $3 billion in private capital during its three-year construction phase and long-term commercial operations. According to the company, the buildout would create union and non-union jobs, support veteran and first-responder housing programs, and fund local college scholarships.

The design goes beyond fuel production. To address regional power deficits identified in Pacific Northwest grid forecasts, the biorefinery incorporates capabilities to sell excess electricity over the fence to neighboring industrial facilities in the Longview area.

Dave Smoot, Founder of Northwest Advanced Bio-Fuels, framed the deal as a financing breakthrough rather than a technical one. "One of the greatest challenges facing the sustainable fuels industry isn't technology—it's access to capital," Smoot said. "Black Gold Equity Partners understands what it takes to build a project like this one. Their backing helps us move from concept to construction."

What does this change for the SAF market?

For the Pacific Northwest wood products sector, the project opens a demand channel for slash and mill residuals that currently carry little or no market value. For airlines flying West Coast routes, it adds a prospective domestic supply node ahead of low-carbon fuel mandates phasing in through 2030.

The project remains at the development stage. Black Gold Equity's contribution covers initial development funding and financial structuring, not the full construction cost. The announced $3 billion capital mobilization depends on financing that has not yet closed, and the late-2027 groundbreaking date gives NWABF roughly two years to complete permitting and finalize offtake agreements.

The milestone that decides what happens next is financial close: whether NWABF and Black Gold Equity can convert development funding into committed construction capital, and whether the Longview plant breaks ground on schedule in late 2027.