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Gov. Newsom touts state’s transition to renewable energy in LA facility tour

May 2, 2023

California Gov. Gavin Newsom touted the progress the state has made toward weaning itself off of fossil fuels and creating jobs for low-income communities during his tour of a renewable fuels facility in Los Angeles on Monday, May 1.

The governor’s trip comes as the state is grappling with the challenges of climate change. Extreme weather has led to prolonged periods of drought, blistering heat waves, and in recent months, severe thunderstorms and flooding. Climate crisis has also disproportionately impacted low-income communities, who are least able to prepare for and recover from extreme weather events due to their limited resources.

During his tour of World Energy Paramount, the original site of a century-old petroleum refinery, Newsom noted the impact that the fossil fuel industry has had on vulnerable communities.

“That impact is real, and that impact is raw for people living in these communities as it relates to not only the air quality, but the manifestation of air quality as it relates to health outcomes, as it relates to chronic disease and the like. And so we are here with a sense of urgency, a sense of intentionality, and a sense of purpose,” he said.

Paramount World Energy, led by CEO Gene Gebolys, is a green energy supplier that specializes in the production of renewable jet, diesel, gasoline and propane fuels. The 63-acre refinery complex was previously owned by Southern California renewable diesel producer AltAir Paramount and was acquired in 2018 by the Boston-based World Energy.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, right, talks with Michael Lohscheller, president and CEO of Nikola Corporation, as they look at a Nikola truck at World Energy Paramount in Paramount Ca., Monday, May 1, 2023. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

California Governor Gavin Newsom looks at alternative fuel trucks at World Energy Paramount in Paramount Ca., Monday, May 1, 2023. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference at World Energy Paramount in Paramount Ca., Monday, May 1, 2023. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Workers listen to California Governor Gavin Newsom at World Energy Paramount in Paramount Ca., Monday, May 1, 2023. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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The company announced a $350 million investment over the next two years to convert the facility into “one of the cleanest fuel refineries in the world,” according to a press release at the time. The project would enable the company to process 306 million gallons of renewable fuel annually, and support 100 green economy jobs.

During an interview after the event, Gebolys told the Southern California News Group that there’s “a complete alignment” between the state policies and the company’s initiatives.

“Obviously, the public sector can’t do anything without a private sector response, and the private sector needs the signal from the public sector,” Gebolys said. “So we are honored and grateful that the governor chose to be here and to recognize the alignment between the private sectors and the public sector in the work that World Energy is doing here.”

The California project has paved the way for additional clean energy works that the company is undertaking in other parts of the world, such as a sustainable aviation project in Houston, and a clean hydrogen initiative in Canada, he said.

“Energy transition is gonna be something that drives many trillions of dollars in investments, and California is gonna be at the tip of that spear,” Gebolys said.

Paramount Mayor Isabel Aguayo said the Paramount project is “one shining example” of the city’s commitment in the global fight against climate change.

“Everyone in town has been aware of this 100-year-old refinery and its outdated manufacturing,” she said, noting that the city council carefully studied World Energy’s permit to transform the production to sustainable aviation fuel before giving the company its stamp of approval.

California, known for its ambitious green energy goals, last week became the first jurisdiction in the world to ban the sale of diesel trucks by 2036. The mandate by the California Air Resources Board also requires large trucking companies to convert to electric or hydrogen models by 2042.

During his speech, the governor also noted the work that the state has undertaken to cut tailpipe emissions of passenger vehicles, namely the Advanced Clean Cars II rule, which built a year-by-year roadmap to transition all new cars sold in California to zero-emission vehicles in 2035.

“And you’re seeing the automobile manufacturers all move in that direction. Whether those that argue for the past like it or not, that transition is underway; those signals have been sent; the policy has been an accelerator, and California, proudly, has led,” Newsom said.

Despite “uncertainty nationally and globally”, the state is “standing tall and firmly” in its transition to green energy and it is doing so in a way that creates jobs for people of color, the governor said.

Fifty-five manufacturers in ZEV, or the zero emission vehicle sector, have chosen to build their headquarters in the state, Newsom said. In addition, there are six times more green energy jobs in California than fossil fuels jobs.

“This transition is well underway, but what’s not well understood is the opportunity to think more broadly than just passenger vehicles, more broadly than just what’s happening in your tailpipe as you navigate the I-405 here in Southern California,” the governor said, adding “This is a big deal, and I can say, I can’t be more proud of anything else in the state.”

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Gov. Newsom touts state’s transition to renewable energy in LA facility tour

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