MARCH 15, 2021
Media Contact: Stephanie McFarland | 317.602.1546 ext. 2 | stephanie@mcfarlandpr.com
Riverview Energy Pledges To Be Carbon Neutral By 2050
‘Carbon feedstock portion of process already CO2-free’
INDIANAPOLIS (March 15, 2021) — Riverview Energy Corporation President Greg Merle officially committed today to ensuring that Riverview Energy Corporation, including the Dale, Indiana hydrogen-fueled plant will become carbon neutral by 2050.
“We have a very real opportunity to make our operations carbon neutral through a range of measures over the next 29 years,” said Merle. “In fact the carbon-based portion of our fuel-conversion process, in which we use high-sulfur coal in a noncombustible method, is already CO2 free. Our biggest target will be to focus on other pieces of the operation, and we have clear-cut paths to make that happen.”
Riverview Energy plans to use diverse electric-energy sources, such as renewable-generated electricity from regional providers, work with contract services that use carbon-free methods and sources, invest in carbon offset options, and to adopt emerging technologies that will take the operation from a gray-hydrogen process today to a green-hydrogen over the next three decades.
“We are forerunners, as our Dale project proves even at this stage – being the first to use a carbon asset in a clean process to develop a cleaner end-use fuel,” said Merle. “So we have the ideal mind-set from the start to bring emerging technologies onboard our operations in the near- and longer-term future, and further cut our carbon footprint.”
Riverview Energy bringing hydrogen-fuel industry to Southwest Indiana
Riverview Energy is on track to contribute significantly to the green-hydrogen economy as the first U.S. direct carbon-hydrogenation refinery, which will produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel that is 30% cleaner than the ULSD standard. The Dale plant will be the first greenfield refinery permitted in almost 50 years.
The plant will have a significantly lower carbon foot-print than other technologies, and nothing will go to waste because all of the plant’s products will be marketable. The Riverview Energy plant will use a Nobel-Prize winning process already used by competing nations to get a leg up on the global energy race. With the direct carbon-hydrogenation process, coal particles are processed via a carbon dioxide-free method that does not burn or gasify the coal. From there, the particles are hydrogenated in a closed system at high pressure and temperature.
The company plans to build more plants in the future, and make its hydrogenation process a valuable part of the U.S. energy independence mix.
New global shipping regulations in effect this year are causing a surge in demand for ULSD. Riverview Energy’s product will help close the fuel gap created by these new regulations. Locally used Riverview products will reduce the need for imports, fulfilling the need for energy independence and allowing the shipping industry to meet its goal of reducing its global footprint.
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ABOUT RIVERVIEW ENERGY
Riverview Energy Corporation is part of a six-generation, privately held energy-industry enterprise that has been in existence since 1843. Few companies can boast this longevity and the insights, experiences and forethought that type of longevity requires. Today, Riverview Energy is using that more-than-150-years of experience to bring the energy industry into a new era. We invest in and develop innovative ways to manufacture cleaner fuels that are far better for the environment, using cleaner resource-conversion processes and emerging technologies. Our collective operations span across Switzerland, France, Spain, India, Hong Kong and the United States. Currently, the company is working to establish the Riverview Project in Spencer County, Indiana. Click here to learn more about this innovative and ground-breaking project in the United States.
DECEMBER 18, 2020
Media Contact: Stephanie McFarland | 317.602.1546 ext. 2 | stephanie@mcfarlandpr.com
Court Rules in Favor of Riverview Energy in Title V Air Permit Challenge
Victory for First-Ever Direct-Coal Hydrogenation Plant Coming to Spencer County, Ind.
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 18, 2020) — Riverview Energy Corporation received good news late this week when an Indiana court denied a petition by local opposition groups Southwestern Indiana Citizens for Quality of Life and Valley Watch, Inc. to block Riverview’s Title V air permit.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision, of course, and had full confidence in the regulatory diligence that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management applied in vetting and issuing our air permit,” said Gregory Merle, president of Riverview Energy.
The Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication denied the petition on all counts cited in the legal challenge.
“It was a full victory on this front, and our next steps are to move forward with the development phase,” said Merle. “That will be a victory for the people of Spencer County, Indiana and the region.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also denied a similar petition from the same two local opposition groups last spring. That denial went unchallenged as of the deadline to appeal in August 2020.
Victory for Southwest Indiana
Riverview Energy is on track to contribute significantly to the green-hydrogen economy as the first U.S. direct coal-hydrogenation refinery, which will produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel that is 30% cleaner than the ULSD standard. The Dale, Ind., plant will be the first greenfield refinery permitted in almost 50 years.
The Riverview Energy plant will use a Nobel-Prize winning process that Russia and China are already using to get a leg up on the global energy race. With the direct coal-hydrogenation process, coal particles are processed via a carbon-free method that does not burn or gasify the coal. From there, the particles are hydrogenated in a closed system at high pressure and temperature.
“The plant will have a significantly lower carbon foot-print than other technologies, and nothing will go to waste,” Merle said. “All the plant’s products will be marketable – and with stricter federal regulations in auto fuel efficiency and now in global marine shipping, the market is prime for this innovative process that uses the U.S’s vast coal resources in a highly clean process.”
Merle says the Dale plant is just the starting point for Riverview Energy’s operations. The company plans to build more plants in the future, and make the coal-hydrogenation process a valuable part of the U.S. energy independence mix.
New global shipping regulations in effect this year are causing a surge in demand for ULSD. Riverview Energy’s product – coal-derived ULSD – will help close the fuel gap created by these new regulations. Locally used Riverview products will reduce the need for imports, fulfilling the need for energy independence and allowing the shipping industry to meet its goal of reducing its global footprint.
For a copy of the court ruling, click here.
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ABOUT RIVERVIEW ENERGY
Riverview Energy Corporation is part of a privately held, sixth-generation, family-owned operation that has been in the energy industry since 1843. Few companies can boast this longevity. Our collective operations offer a wide range of carbon products to our customers, including thermal coal, coking coal and metallurgical coke – and we supply coal and other materials serving large multi-national needs in power, metals and cement production. Our enterprise sources coal from the ten largest producers in the world, selling coal to over fifteen different countries. Our collective operations span across Switzerland, France, Spain, India, Hong Kong and the United States. On the whole, our collective operations trade approximately 7 million tons of coal per year, selling to power stations, iron/steelmakers, cement and chemical producers, and others. Currently, the company is working to establish the Riverview Project in Spencer County, Indiana. Click here to learn more about this innovative and ground-breaking project in the United States.
JUNE 14, 2019
Media Contact: Stephanie McFarland | 317.602.1546 ext. 2 | stephanie@mcfarlandpr.com
Indiana Issues Air Permit to Riverview Energy
First coal-hydrogenation plant in U.S., first greenfield refinery permitted in decades
INDIANAPOLIS (June 14, 2019) — Riverview Energy reached a significant milestone today when it officially received approval from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for a Title V air-operations permit. The company plans to build the first U.S. direct coal-hydrogenation project in Dale, Ind.
“This is an integral step in the process of bringing the direct coal-hydrogenation plant to Dale,” said Gregory Merle, president of Riverview Energy. “It is also a significant milestone for the U.S., because the plant will be the first greenfield refinery permitted in almost 50 years. This sends a clear message: The United States is back in the energy business.”
The Riverview Energy plant will be the first of its kind in the United States, using a Nobel-Prize winning process that does not burn or gasify coal to make environmentally friendly ultra-low sulfur diesel. Via the direct coal-hydrogenation process, coal particles are hydrogenated in a closed system at high pressure and temperature. The plant will have a significantly lower carbon foot-print than other technologies, and nothing will go to waste. All the plant’s products will be marketable.
Despite the fact the plant is a truly clean-coal innovation, it has been met with misinformed opposition from a small but vocal anti-coal group made up mostly of people outside of the town district.
“We would like to thank everyone who supports this project,” said Merle. “You have suffered the slings and arrows of misinformation and scare tactics, and we appreciate your steadfast encouragement as we worked through the air-permit process.”
Merle says the Dale plant is just the starting point for Riverview Energy’s operations. The company plans to build more plants in the future, and make the coal-hydrogenation process a valuable part of the U.S. energy independence mix.
A report, released earlier this year, by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the global marine shipping industry – which makes up more than 80% of the global trade volume, and 70% of its economic value – will face a potential fuel crisis starting in 2020 when new international regulations go into effect. Riverview Energy’s product will be a significant positive in helping that industry address the crisis – as new regulations will require ships to reduce their fuel-sulfur content from 3.5% to 0.5%.
To meet these new, more drastic regulations, marine shipping vessels will need to either switch to using natural gas on the open seas, install expensive scrubbers, or use USLD. Riverview Energy’s product – coal-derived ultra-low sulfur diesel – will help close the fuel gap the report says the regulations will create.
This process has been used extensively in Germany since the 1930s, and the technology is now in use in China, Russia and is planned for use in the Middle East as well.
For more information about Riverview Energy, email info@riverviewenergy.com
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ABOUT RIVERVIEW ENERGY
Riverview Energy Corporation is part of a privately held, sixth-generation, family-owned operation that has been in the energy industry since 1843. Few companies can boast this longevity. Our collective operations offer a wide range of carbon products to our customers, including thermal coal, coking coal and metallurgical coke – and we supply coal and other materials serving large multi-national needs in power, metals and cement production. Our enterprise sources coal from the ten largest producers in the world, selling coal to over fifteen different countries. Our collective operations span across Switzerland, France, Spain, India, Hong Kong and the United States. On the whole, our collective operations trade approximately 7 million tons of coal per year, selling to power stations, iron/steelmakers, cement and chemical producers, and others. Currently, the company is working to establish the Riverview Project in Spencer County, Indiana. Click here to learn more about this innovative and ground-breaking project in the United States.
OTHER NEWS:
Indiana Company to Play Pivotal Role in New Global Emission Standards