Kore Infrastructure was awarded a $500,000 grant from the California Department of Conservation to build a biomass plant in Porterville. Screen grab from a Kore vidoe

Montana-based Kore Infrastructure, a waste-to-energy company, announced it has partnered with the Tule River Economic Development Corporation to develop a modular, forest biomass-to-biofuel facility that will be carbon negative in Tulare County.

The project received a shot in the arm after Kore Infrastructure was awarded a $500,000 grant from the California Department of Conservation.

Located in Porterville, the projected facility will help reduce the risk of wildfires and help to decarbonize transportation, according to a news release.

The project will be completed in two phases, with global sustainable design and engineering company Stantec leading development of conceptual engineering by early 2024, and Front End Engineering Design finalizing the project by 2025.

“Given the recent record-breaking global temperatures, innovative solutions to ease the effect of climate change are crucial,” said Kore founder and CEO Cornelius Shields. “We are proud to partner with the Indigenous leaders at Tule River Economic Development Corporation to introduce our unique technology that can mitigate wildfire risk and restore the health of Sierra Nevada forests, enhance climate resiliency, encourage energy independence, and help decarbonize transportation in the state of California.”

The project will allow for up to 48 tons of non-merchantable, dead, dying and diseased trees and foliage to be removed per day, generating the refuse into two metric tons of fuel cell quality hydrogen daily.

The Tule River Economic Development Corporation, which manages 57,000 acres of forests, will join the US Forest Service in a stewardship agreement to manage an additional 325,000 acres.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Kore Infrastructure to support and scale the vision of our renewable energy campus with the production of carbon-negative hydrogen that sustains our local economy,” said Dennis Ickes, CEO of Tule River Economic Development Corporation. “This project will improve the health of the forests we manage, generate renewable energy, and help enhance the economic independence of our community.”

The partnership between the Tule River Economic Development Corporation and Kore Infrastructure is the first phase in a project that is aimed to triple in size in order to benefit climate adaptation, carbon reduction and local energy independence.

The Tule River Tribe owns the new Eagle Mountain Casino facility near in Porterville.