Southwest Arkansas Issued BDO Zone 'AA' Rating for Woody Biomass
Southwest Arkansas Issued BDO Zone
'AA' Rating for Woody Biomass
– ‘AA’ Rating Positions Southwest Arkansas as a Premier Site for Biobased Investment –
October 6, 2026 – Southwest Arkansas Development Alliance, Ecostrat and the BDO Zone Initiative are pleased to announce the issue of a BDO Zone ‘AA’ Rating for Southwest Arkansas. The BDO Zone is rated for 1,026,000 bone dry tons per year of low-risk woody biomass and spans a 75-mile drive radius from its central point in Prescott, AR.
Southwest Arkansas ‘AA’ rating denotes very high prospective viability of Feedstock Supply and Infrastructure and low expectations of default risk in the Zone. Southwest Arkansas stands out for its structural surplus of woody biomass and the timber growth in the region outpaces removals by a 1.6 growth-to-drain ratio, backed by an established procurement network and a diversified supplier base spanning three states. The anchor site — Prescott Industrial Park, 126 acres on Interstate 30 — brings on-site rail via the Prescott & Northwestern Railroad, 13.8 kV electric service, Summit Utilities natural gas, and municipal water and sewer. Combined with competitive regional labor costs, Southwest Arkansas offers a compelling, low-risk profile for biobased industrial development.
Anna Lee Powell, President of Southwest Arkansas Development Alliance, stated, “Southwest Arkansas has the feedstock, the workforce, and the site-ready infrastructure to support serious biobased investment. This ‘AA’ rating reflects the strength of our region’s sustainably managed timberland and the readiness of Southwest Arkansas, and we see it as a meaningful signal to developers and investors looking for a very low-risk, high-viability location on the I-30 corridor.”
Mary Godwin, Director of Prescott Economic Development, stated, “The designation of a BDO zone for the Prescott Industrial Park represents a significant opportunity to position Prescott and Southwest Arkansas as a regional hub for woody-biomass utilization and advanced biofuel development. The AA rating will signal to investors and bioenergy developers that the Prescott Industrial Park is positioned to compete nationally for new bio-based manufacturing facilities that will support biomass supply chain, renewable fuels, biomass energy and other emerging bio products.”
Jordan Solomon, Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative, stated, “Southwest Arkansas combines a structural oversupply of pulpwood with a significant, largely untapped forest residue stream and a feedstock profile that’s hard to match. When you pair that with a shovel-ready, rail- and interstate-served industrial site in Prescott, this is one of the strongest signals we can send to biobased developers about where to locate their next project.”
To see the full BDO Zone Rating for Southwest, AR, please click here, or 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.
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.