BDO ZoneCONNECT Webinar:
BDO ZoneCONNECT Webinar:
Laurel County, Kentucky
July 16, 2026 – Ecostrat Inc. and the BDO Zone Initiative, hosted the BDO ZoneCONNECT webinar spotlighting an investment-grade BDO Zone community in Kentucky rated ‘A’ for Woody Biomass: Laurel County.
The webinar was moderated by Ryan Magwood, Head of Business Development for the BDO Zone Initiative, and featured Paula Thompson, Executive Director of the London-Laurel County Economic Development Authority. The discussion underscored the region’s abundant biomass resources, robust infrastructure, shovel-ready sites, and attractive local incentives—positioning the BDO Zone as a prime location for bio-based projects seeking a reliable, long-term supply of biomass feedstock.
BDO ZoneCONNECT facilitates connections and stimulates development interest within BDO Zone communities. The series serves as a catalyst for networking, introduces new BDO Zone ratings to the market, and engages a diverse global audience of stakeholders, including investors, bio-based project developers, financiers, and community leaders.
To view the webinar, please click below:
Summary of Presenter Remarks
Peter Wolf, Project Director, Ecostrat:
- “At low risk, a new project could have access to 340,000 dry tons of wood fiber per year — including low-grade roundwood, forest residue, and sawmill residuals — at delivered prices of less than $90 per dry ton.”
- “If you focus on forest-origin material, that’s about 275,000 dry tons of pulpwood and forest residue, available for as low as $60 per dry ton. That’s competitive pricing for an advanced bioenergy technology like liquid biofuel or SAF.”
- “If you look at the forest inventory data, growth exceeds removals in many cases by a factor of three. So there’s lots of room for sustainable harvesting.”
Paula Thompson, Executive Director, London-Laurel County Economic Development Authority:
- “We’re currently working on the McDaniel Industrial Park, a 200-acre site surrounded by the Daniel Boone National Forest and located directly off Highway 80. We’ve just received a grant to build a 70,000-square-foot spec building on Lot 1, and we have room to grow — an option on 200 additional acres means the site can expand to 400 acres.”
- “This new park has a very strong utility presence — we’re extending water, sewer, electric, and fiber so that every lot is served. As an agency, we offer our land and buildings at true cost, and we perform all due diligence to prove the site is healthy — getting it to grade and sometimes putting a speculative building on it so it’s ready for the company. That provides speed to market.”
- “We’re a certified work-ready community — our chamber works directly with the schools to certify students based on local criteria that goes on their diploma. We’re a health care, manufacturing, and logistics hub with a strong labor pool, and we’re within a half-day’s drive of most of the U.S.”
- “We have a very low cost of doing business — our tax rates are the second lowest in the entire state, and they’re dependable and easy to work with. We partner with the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development on local and state tax credits, and I’ve had no problem working with companies to meet their growing needs.”
For more information on the Laurel County, KY BDO Zone, click here, and for their slide deck, click here.
To view all BDO Zone ratings, visit www.bdozone.org.
BDO Zone Project Development Support:
About The BDO Zone Initiative
The Biofuel Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone Initiative certifies ‘regional readiness’ for bio-manufacturing, creates global connections and ignites an influx of new energy opportunities for farmers, economic developers, and rural businesses. A BDO Zone rating is an internationally recognized, standards-based technical risk assessment of a region’s feedstock, supply chain, and infrastructure risk with respect to the development potential for new biofuel plants. BDO Zone ratings are site location bullseyes for bio-project development. Investment grade ratings are force-multipliers for attracting new manufacturing plants to the areas where they are most likely to succeed, drive investment and create jobs.
For more information on the BDO Zone Initiative, contact info@bdozone.org. To view all BDO Zone ratings, visit www.bdozone.org. Check out the BDO Zone LinkedIn page for news and updates.
About Ecostrat
Ecostrat is the North American leader in biomass due diligence for biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, and bio-product project development and finance. Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat (www.ecostrat.com). He can be reached at jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com.
Originally published at bdozone.org.