Marathon’s refinery permit request to switch to biofuels approved

In California, The Mercury News reports that Marathon Petroleum received approval from the Contra Costa County Planning Commission to upgrade its Martinez plant so it can process vegetable oils and animal fats into renewable diesel, propane and other fuels.

The refinery produced diesel from crude oil and other fossil fuels for years, and two years ago it produced 18% of all fossil-fuel diesel consumed in California. The refinery began pausing operations in April 2020 just as the pandemic forced the nation into a lockdown and people cut their driving drastically. Plummeting gas sales led to more than 700 layoffs, and growing pressure from local politicians and environmental groups to abandon fossil fuels prompted company officials to consider an operational transition to biofuels production.