WebinarJun 5, 2024

BDO ZoneCONNECT Webinar: Region Nine, Minnesota and Coconino County, Arizona

On May 30, 2024, Ecostrat Inc., in collaboration with TheDigest, hosted the BDO ZoneCONNECT webinar, highlighting two investment grade BDO Zone communities in North America: Region Nine, Minnesota for Corn Stover, and Coconino County, Arizona for Woody Biomass. This one-hour session delved into the biobased development potential of these BDO Zones, both of which have earned an ‘A’ rating, making them ideal locations for large-scale bioeconomy projects.

The webinar was moderated by Jim Lane, Editor of TheDigest, and featured key insights from Aryn Garswood, Head of the BDO Zone Initiative. The focus was on the regions’ feedstock availability, infrastructure strengths, and attractive local incentives. Participants included Nicole Griensewic and Samuel Sharp from the Region Nine Development Commission, along with Jay Smith from Coconino County, who discussed their BDO Zones’ preparedness for bio-based projects, highlighting their abundant biomass resources, project-ready sites, robust infrastructure, and favorable tax benefits.

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

Bob Lima, Project Director, Ecostrat:

“Region Nine is a large corn producing region, the rated quantity for this BDO Zone is 1.4 million bdt of corn stover per year.”
“The infrastructure analyzed was in New Ulm, that parcel has all the utilities and a rail line so there is great access to markets.”

Nicole Griensewic, Executive Director, Region Nine Development Commission:

“We are very much an agricultural region and are very strong in manufacturing, with advanced Ag and Ag innovation attracting a lot of new start ups.”
“Educational attainment and a low unemployment rate make our region extra competitive.”

Samuel Sharp, Energy and Sustainability Planner, Region Nine Development Commission:

“St. James has a very active community and committed governmental leadership who are constantly looking for ways to bring in new innovation technologies and opportunities to their surrounding region.”
“There are bio incentive programs in the state through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The Agri Bioincentive program, the Advanced Biofuel Program, the Renewable Chemicals Program and the Biomass Thermal Energy Program.”

Peter Wolf, Project Director, Ecostrat:

“In terms of supply experience the rated quantities [100,000 bone dry tons/year] are matched well to the workforce capacity.”
“The institutional infrastructure is a very unique aspect of the BDO Zone. There are a number of organizations that are involved and dedicated towards ecological restoration and wildfire mitigation and finding markets for the material produced from those activities.”

Jay Smith, Forest Restoration Director, Coconino County:

“We have a biomass bottleneck, we don’t have the industry to consume the biomass we’re creating through our thinning operations.”
“Our board of supervisors just passed a referendum for conditional use permits in the forest industry to help easily get through our permitting process.”
“Our BDO Zone is right in the middle of the largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest in the world.”
“Coconino County urgently needs forest reforestation, and we are eager to develop the partnerships and industries that will support this important work.” - Jeronimo Vasquez, Chair, Coconino County Board of Supervisors.

For more information on the Region Nine, MN, BDO Zone, click here, and for their slide deck, click here.

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

Contact Information:

Nicole Griensewic, BDO Zone Local Development Leader (LDL) and Executive Director, Region Nine Development Commission (nicole@rndc.org).

Jay Smith, BDO Zone Local Development Leader (LDL) and Forest Restoration Director, Coconino County (jaysmith@coconino.az.gov).

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

Originally published at bdozone.org.