WebinarOct 31, 2024

BDO ZoneCONNECT Webinar: Little Colorado River, AZ, and Wyoming County, PA

On October 11, 2024, Ecostrat Inc. and the BDO Zone Initiative, in collaboration with TheDigest, hosted the BDO ZoneCONNECT webinar, highlighting two investment grade BDO Zone communities in North America: Little Colorado River, Arizona, and Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, both rated ‘A’ for Woody Biomass.

The webinar was moderated by Jim Lane, Editor of TheDigest, and featured key insights from Aryn Garswood, Head of the BDO Zone Initiative. Participants included Karalea Wiltbank, President of the Foundation for Little Colorado Revitalization; Malena Hannah, Founder and Senior Project Manager at MH Consulting and Project Management; Preston Raban, Economic Development Director at Apache County; and Gina Severcool Suydam, President at the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce. The discussion focused on the region’s abundant biomass resources, robust infrastructure, project-ready sites, and attractive local incentives, including favorable tax benefits, which make them ideal locations for biobased projects seeking a reliable supply of feedstock.

BDO ZoneCONNECT, a joint initiative with The Daily Digest, aims to facilitate connections and stimulate development interest within BDO Zone communities. It serves as a catalyst for networking, sharing new BDO Zone ratings, and attracting a diverse global audience of stakeholders, including investors, bio-based project developers, financiers, and community leaders.

Get a BDO Zone Rating

To view the webinar, please click below:

Summary of Presenter Remarks

Mahmood Ebadian, Project Director, Ecostrat:

“This is the first BDO Zone rating the the State of Pennsylvania. We hear a lot about the Southeastern US in terms of biomass projects but if you look at the history of Pennsylvania it’s been leading the nation in terms of hardwood manufacturing and there is very high quality pulpwood in the region.”
“The existing wood processing facilities including the saw mills and lumber manufacturing would welcome a new biomass project. Almost 65% of the timber supply is pulpwood and 35% is saw timber. The more pulpwood that is harvested the cheaper it will be for the logging companies and saw mills to reduce their harvesting costs.”
“There is a lack of competition from a large facility, there used to be a pulp and paper facility that has relocated. This would be an asset for a new biomass project as they would not have to compete for this supply.”

Gina Severcool Suydam, President, Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce:

“Proctor and Gamble, the largest paper making facility in the Country, called Wyoming County home for nearly 60 years. Then in the late 80’s they stopped using local hardwoods and began importing their material to make paper. So this is how I knew we had this abundance of hardwood that’s available.”
“We also have an abundance of water, the Susquehanna River runs diagonally through the County and the State has permitted withdrawal sites throughout the county and withdraws millions of gallons of water throughout the year. There is also an extensive operating rail system that runs along the river. This is a great resource for those who will be using the water supply and need a rail system.”
“In Northeast Pennsylvania you will find a skilled workforce, hard working people and higher education institutions that are ready to partner with new industries.”
“Cascades was a paper manufacturer here and they have a 38 acre site that is no longer operational. It’s all open buildings and waiting to be sold. This site also has an extraction permit so they have the infrastructure to extract water from the Susquehanna River, along with an 8 inch natural gas line. It also has a rail spur, this is a great site; the facility shutdown a year and a half ago.”

Bob Buckingham, Project Director, Ecostrat:

“The largest volume of biomass in this area [Little Colorado River region] is woodland biomass, this is pinyon and juniper. Most of this woody biomass is on BLM lands and State trust land, both of these entities have big pushes on increasing the amount of harvesting for this type of biomass primarily for wildfire mitigation.”
“There is a lot more available biomass in the region that could be harvested but is not because we need more consumers. There is more biomass than can be harvested; it is just a matter of having a place to send it.”

Karalea Wiltbank, President, Foundation for Little Colorado Revitalization:

“We have a history of a strong forest economy. In 2004 we were awarded the very first contracts for thinnings with the US Forest Service. The current businesses got their start with this stewardship thinning contract.”
“In 2011 we were devastated by the wildfire, we looked at this as a learning opportunity because we now know that we need to utilize this resource and create more healthy forests.”
“The Eagar, AZ Private Parcel is turnkey and ready. It’s 122 acres and it aligns itself with Highway 260 throughout our forests. The Eagar, AZ, Municipal Park is a good opportunity for biofuels development.”
“Preston mentioned that our largest employers are two coal fired generating stations in Apache County that are both slated for closure, this does help create a ready workforce.”

Malena Hannah, Founder/Senior Project Manager, MH Consulting and Project Management:

“Our property taxes are low, there are tax incentives to locate businesses here so the cost of doing business and creating the infrastructure that’s needed for a project here in Apache County is low.”

Preston Raban, Economic Development Director, Apache County:

“There are a lot of eyes on our coal communities and we want to determine how we can transition out of coal into the next best thing. This gives us the opportunity to do just that.”

For more information on the Little Colorado River, AZ, BDO Zone, click here, and for their slide deck, click here.

For more information on the Wyoming County, PA, BDO Zone, click here, and for their slide deck, click here.

Contact Information:

Karalea Wiltbank, BDO Zone Local Development Leader (LDL) and President, Foundation for Little Colorado Revitalization (karaleacox@gmail.com).

Gina Suydam, BDO Zone Local Development Leader (LDL) and President, Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce (gina@wyccc.com).

Aryn Garswood, Head of the BDO Zone Initiative (aryn@ecostrat.com).

Originally published at bdozone.org.