Synthica Lebanon Junction

• Status: Permitting & Design
• Kentucky DEP Permit Review in Progress: Read More
• Located at 13077 South Preston Hwy, Lebanon Junction, KY 40150
• Serving the Greater Louisville region, conveniently located 30 miles south of downtown Louisville
• Approx. 400,000 tons per year of food-derived feedstock
• Approx. 650,000 MMBtu of RNG/year
• Groundbreaking Scheduled Q3 2023
• Commercial Operation in Late 2024

Why Lebanon Junction?

Lebanon Junction has a long history as a town fueled by industry. As a major railroad switching point in the 1850’s, manufacturers shipping goods relied on workers in Lebanon Junction to reload and refuel steam-powered locomotives for the long haul up through hilly country. Growth in the railroad industry there led the city to become the largest city in Bullitt County in the 1890’s (source).

While the city has changed much since the peak of the railroad days, we believe that it and the region have a strong opportunity to be an industry leader again – this time in both manufacturing and renewable energy. Growth along the I-65 corridor is spawning investments in EV battery manufacturing (link) as well as massive investments in bourbon production and other food manufacturing. In fact, since 2014, Kentucky has announced food and beverage projects totaling approximately $4.8 billion in investment and close to 8,000 jobs (link).

These food and beverage manufacturers face a difficult problem though – dealing with their byproducts is expensive and logistically complex. By constructing Synthica Lebanon Junction, we aim to bring both a green solution to regional manufacturers, and allow Lebanon Junction to benefit from the huge growth in renewable energy demand.

What are the benefits to the project? / Why is it important?

Manufacturers looking to expand or relocate into Kentucky are seeking out easy access to byproduct recycling, and will see Synthica Lebanon Junction as a strong reason to pick the area for their facilities, bringing additional jobs and tax revenue for the area. Once in place, our facility will divert 400,000 tons per year of byproduct materials from local landfills and other non-sustainable outlets. Manufacturers will have less distance to haul these byproducts, lowering costs and cutting down on diesel emissions.

• Jobs: With new manufacturing facilities comes new jobs – both at the facilities themselves and at supporting industries. The trend recently is for manufacturers not only to look for affordable land and a strong workforce when locating a facility, but to look at the nearby infrastructure to see if it will support their needs. We have already seen some manufacturers “pass” on a region because of a lack of digester infrastructure.
• Easier Expansion: While there is a great deal of expansion going on in the region around distilleries and other food manufacturers, these facilities still face an expensive problem of dealing with their byproducts. Not having access to a sustainable outlet means they are often forced to choose more harmful disposal outlets to the environment such as landfilling or land application (releasing all the pollutants contained in their materials directly into the atmosphere instead of capturing them).
• Lack of Any Local Digester Infrastructure: Currently there are no anaerobic digestion facilities located near either “Bourbon Country” or Greater Louisville. This causes the region to be at a disadvantage when compared to other regions, because it means operating a food manufacturing plant in the region is more expensive. In the near future, in the same way companies expect to have reliable electric and gas infrastructure when they site a location, they will expect to have easy outlets for organic waste disposal.
• Emissions Reductions: Fewer trucks driving longer distances to haul away wastes means that overall truck emissions in the region will be reduced.

Questions?