For decades, the refinery on the outskirts of Bakersfield, California, did what refineries do: it turned crude oil into diesel. Now, that same site is being gutted and rebuilt from the ground up — and when it restarts, no petroleum will pass through it at all.
The retooled facility is designed to produce 15,000 barrels of renewable diesel per day. Its primary feedstock isn’t soy or palm oil, but camelina — a drought-tolerant oilseed crop that most drivers have never heard of. The scale of the conversion, and the crop at its center, point to something larger than a single plant’s makeover.
A petroleum plant with a new purpose
The Bakersfield site’s transformation isn’t cosmetic. Global Clean Energy Holdings is leading a full revamp that strips away the facility’s petroleum-processing infrastructure and replaces it with equipment designed exclusively for renewable fuel production. When the conversion is complete, the plant will produce 15,000 barrels of renewable diesel per day — and crude oil won’t factor into that equation at all.
Two regulatory targets shape the entire project. The fuel produced must meet California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard — one of the most stringent clean-fuel policies in the country — as well as ASTM D975 diesel specifications, the same standard conventional diesel must satisfy. Hitting both benchmarks means the output can move directly into California’s existing fuel supply without modification.
Camelina: the unconventional crop powering the transition
At the center of the project is a crop most people couldn’t identify in a field. Camelina is a drought-tolerant oilseed that requires relatively little water or agricultural input compared to conventional biofuel crops. Global Clean Energy Holdings holds proprietary camelina oil, making it the refinery’s primary feedstock rather than the more commonly used soy or palm alternatives.
That distinction matters for regulatory compliance. Camelina carries a low carbon intensity score — the metric California uses to measure how much greenhouse gas a fuel generates across its entire lifecycle — and a lower CI score translates directly into greater value under the LCFS framework.
The facility won’t rely on camelina alone. It’ll also process a traditional slate of waste fats, oils, and grease alongside the proprietary crop. That blend builds supply flexibility into the operation, reducing the risk that comes with depending on any single source, whether due to weather, crop yield, or market availability.
How HydroFlex™ makes the conversion possible
Converting a crude oil refinery into a renewable fuels facility isn’t a straightforward swap of equipment. The chemistry is different, feedstocks behave differently, and the engineering requirements shift accordingly. That’s where Topsoe’s HydroFlex™ technology comes in.
HydroFlex™ is described as the industry-leading licensed technology for producing renewable diesel and jet fuel. For the Bakersfield project, Topsoe will supply basic engineering, licensing, proprietary equipment, and catalyst — essentially the technical backbone of the new operation.
One practical advantage is flexibility. HydroFlex™ can be deployed in entirely new, purpose-built units as well as in refinery revamps like this one, which helps keep capital and operating expenditure lower than building from scratch. That matters when the economics of renewable fuel production are still maturing. The technology also delivers a better carbon intensity score compared to alternatives — a direct competitive advantage in markets governed by low-carbon fuel policies. Henrik Rasmussen, Vice President of Haldor Topsoe, noted that the Bakersfield project adds to a growing US portfolio of HydroFlex™ installations, reflecting broader momentum across the refining sector.
A regional economic and environmental ripple effect
The effects of the conversion extend beyond the refinery fence. According to Global Clean Energy Holdings CEO Richard Palmer, the project is expected to generate both direct and indirect job opportunities in the Bakersfield region — a meaningful consideration in a city where the oil industry has long been a major employer.
On the environmental side, renewable diesel produced at the site is projected to deliver significant CO2 reductions compared to conventional petroleum diesel, owing to its lower carbon intensity across the fuel’s lifecycle. That reduction feeds directly into California’s broader decarbonization goals. Palmer also described the project as contributing to a growing diversified domestic energy mix, reducing the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels by producing low-carbon fuel from domestically grown feedstocks.
The Bakersfield conversion may turn out to be an early data point in a longer trend. As California’s LCFS continues tightening its targets and similar policies gain traction elsewhere, the economic case for retooling legacy refineries — rather than building new ones — could grow considerably stronger. The question isn’t whether more conversions like this will follow. It’s how quickly the rest of the industry moves to catch up.
