BDO ZoneCONNECT Webinar: Pointe Coupee, Louisiana & Southeast Kansas

BDO ZoneCONNECT Webinar: Pointe Coupee, Louisiana & Southeast Kansas

On July 31st, 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: Pointe Coupée, Louisiana, rated A for Woody Biomass, and Southeast Kansas, rated BBB for Corn Stover.

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 Creed Romano, Economic Development Director, Pointe Coupée Parish; Carey Spoon, Executive Director, Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission; Brad Reams, KPG/GPIP Director, Kansas Proving Grounds at Great Plains Industrial Park; Craig VanWey, Senior Regional Director, Kansas Department of Commerce. The webinar underscored the regions’ abundant biomass resources, robust infrastructure, shovel-ready sites and attractive local incentives, positioning these BDO Zones as prime locations for biobased projects seeking a reliable supply of biomass 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.

To view the webinar, please click below:

Summary of Presenter Remarks

Marcin Lewandowski, Senior Director, Operations & Risk, Ecostrat:

• “Within the Southeast Kansas 75-mile supply zone, there’s 154,000 bone dry tons per year of corn stover that’s available at low-risk. The pricing is between $86-$124 per bone dry ton delivered to Parsons, KS.”
• “There’s around 10,000 farmers in the supply zone with 5.5 million acres of farmland and corn is a major part of the crop rotation. There is strong support from local crop growers and no significant competition for the corn stover, it is either left in the field for soil erosion prevention or used as animal feed, but really the vast majority of it is available at the pricing provided here. There is also great land available for industrial development.”

Carey Spoon, Executive Director, Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission:

• “The Southeast Kansas regional planning commission represents the 12 counties in the southeast corner of our state. We cover 7000 square miles within the BDO Zone with major industries that include manufacturing, agriculture and agribusiness.”

Brad Reams, KPG/GPIP Director, Kansas Proving Grounds at Great Plains Industrial Park:

• “Our organization, the Great Plains Development Authority owns 6,800 acres [Great Plains Industrial Park], we are managing a 30 square-mile facility with 100 miles of roads and 26 miles of rail.”
• “We have access to the Union Pacific rail line at the southern tip of our park, so guaranteed rail access. Then through a couple switches we have access to the BNSF and CPKC rail line so great class one rail access to our park.”
• “Something that gives us a step up on some other locations is that we already have an existing biofuels feasibility study for biodiesel that was done in 2023, which is something we can hand to any developer that’s interested.”

Craig VanWey, Senior Regional Director, Kansas Department of Commerce:

• “At the Kansas Department of Commerce we have an industrial workforce training program. Eligible companies that are hiring new employees and needing to train them over a 12 month period can receive a reimbursement of up to $1,200-2,000 per trainee or new hire.”
• “At the Kansas Department of Commerce we provide programs and services to help companies come to Kansas and support those that are already here to grow and prosper through the use of our incentive programs or other resources.”

Marcin Lewandowski, Senior Director, Operations & Risk, Ecostrat:

• “In the Pointe Coupee BDO Zone we looked at woody biomass, so roundwood/pulpwood, forest residue and sawmill residuals. The quantity rated is 1.3 million bone dry tons available at prices between $50-100 depending on the type of woody biomass.”
• “90% of the forests in the region are privately owned which is of great benefit from our perspective. With high supply and low demand there is room for negotiation, attractive pricing and no regulatory hurdles in terms of buying this biomass.”

Creed Romano, Economic Development Director, Pointe Coupée Parish:

• “We have great access to rail in the parish, we’re also right on the river so we have port access. As far as greenfield sites, Pointe Coupee is home to the most Louisiana LED certified sites compared to any other parish so we certainly have room to grow.”
• “In terms of feedstock we are rich in timber but also sugar cane and other agricultural byproducts. We also have abundant land for industrial and agricultural expansion.”
• “We are focusing on circular economy industries and renewable feedstock applications that can work with our existing legacy industries.”

For more information on the Southeast Kansas BDO Zone, or Pointe Coupée, LA BDO Zone, refer to the provided links for detailed resources and slide decks.

Contact Information:

Carey Spoon, BDO Zone Local Development Leader (LDL) and Executive Director, Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission, (director@sekrpc.org).

Creed Romano, BDO Zone Local Development Leader (LDL) and Economic Development Director, Pointe Coupée Parish (cromano@pcparish.org).

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

Originally published at bdozone.org.