Prince of Wales Island, Alaska Issued BDO Zone 'BB' Rating for Woody Biomass
Prince of Wales Island, Alaska Issued BDO Zone 'BB' Rating for Woody Biomass
See the rating →, Alaska’s First BDO Zone Reveals Challenges and Opportunities in the Local Bioeconomy ,
March 6th, 2025 , The Southeast Conference, Ecostrat and the BDO Zone Initiative are pleased to announce the issue of a BDO Zone ‘BB’ Rating for Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. The BDO Zone Rating for 11,500 bone dried tons per year of woody biomass is the first rating in the state of Alaska and extends a 75-mile drive-distance from the center point in Thorne Bay, AK.
Prince of Wales Island’s ‘BB’ rating indicates moderate prospects for Feedstock Supply and Infrastructure with an elevated vulnerability to risk over time, particularly during adverse business or economic conditions. While the region shows promise, accessing the full rated quantity of wood fiber depends on significant scaling of current operations. Specifically, this would require doubling lumber production by the network of small sawmills in the region, necessitating increased funding from existing and/or new capital sources.
The region presents both opportunities and challenges. Current biomass quantities are sufficient to support a quadrupling of the regional biomass heating market, and the forestry workforce and equipment scale-up requirements are likely achievable in the short term. Additionally, wood fiber availability from secondary forests is projected to increase significantly over the next 15-20 years. However, the recent ban on old-growth harvesting has significantly limited wood supply, leading to sawmill curtailments and business closures. The remoteness of the Zone also presents market, infrastructure, and workforce-related challenges.
“The ‘BB’ rating realistically reflects both our challenges and opportunities. While we face many limitations in our current wood fiber supply chain, we see significant potential for opportunity and growth through strategic development of our young growth forests and expansion of our small sawmill operations. This rating provides a framework and roadmap for what needs to be addressed to create sustainable, placed-based economies and attract future biobased development.” , Robert Venables, Executive Director for Southeast Conference.
“The Prince of Wales Island’s ‘BB’ rating shows promise for sustainable biomass development, although challenges exist, particularly around scaling up operations and addressing infrastructure needs. With proper investment and strategic planning, particularly in developing secondary forest resources and expanding sawmill operations, the region could become an increasingly attractive destination for biobased projects.” , Jordan Solomon, Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative.
To see the full BDO Zone Rating for Prince of Wales Island, AK, please click here, or visit www.bdozone.org.
BDO Zone project development support:
Robert Venables
Executive Director Southeast Conference
robert@seconference.org
907-586-4360
Alan Peranson
Director of Business Development
BDO Zone Initiative
alan@ecostrat.com
833-311-4236
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.
Ecostrat is the North American leader in biomass due diligence for biofuels, renewable chemicals, biogas, and bio-product project development and finance. Jordan Solomon (jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com) is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat (www.ecostrat.com).
Originally published at bdozone.org.