FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine – In honor of the fifth Annual National Bioenergy Day, ReEnergy Holdings LLC held an Open House at its Fort Fairfield facility. At the event, ReEnergy Chief Executive Officer Larry D. Richardson made a formal announcement that ReEnergy was partnering with Biobased Maine to request proposals from companies wishing to co-locate at one or more of ReEnergy’s four biomass-to-electricity facilities in Maine.
ReEnergy owns and operates four utility-scale renewable energy generating facilities in Maine (a 39-megawatt biomass facility in Ashland; a 39-megawatt biomass facility in Livermore Falls; a 37-megawatt biomass facility in Fort Fairfield; and a 48-megawatt biomass facility in Stratton.) These facilities use locally sourced, sustainably harvested, forest-derived woody biomass as fuel, in addition to woody biomass that is residue from mill operations.
Each ReEnergy facility is capable of operating as part of a Combined Heat and Power platform: Each is adjacent to undeveloped land that is available for lease or sale, and companies locating on those parcels could make use of affordable electricity and/or steam generated by ReEnergy’s facility.
ReEnergy’s biomass power plants are capable of delivering cost-effective thermal energy (steam, hot water), electricity and CO2 to an industry or industries located on adjacent property. Energy costs for an entity locating at this site will be more competitive than market-rate energy, since
electricity and steam supply from ReEnergy’s facilities should result in avoided capital and maintenance costs, avoided electrical transmission and distribution costs, and the ability to enter into a long-term agreement to hedge market price risk.
“Since we became a Maine corporate citizen in 2011, we have deployed more than $500 million in capital and operating expenses in our Maine assets, and we wish to increase that commitment. We believe our biomass-to-electricity facilities represent critical economic development tools,” said Richardson. “Many logging companies and mills count on our facilities for their continued viability, and we firmly believe that our biomass assets represent a critical economic development tool, as each of our power facilities is located adjacent to at least one large tract of undeveloped land and each could provide affordable electricity, thermal energy and other infrastructure support to a co-located industry. We appreciate the policy support that our sector has received from the State of Maine, and we are working to ensure that our facilities can be a catalyst for the development of new complementary industries. We are engaged in aggressive efforts to ensure long-term viability of our assets in Maine.”
Charlotte Mace, executive director of Biobased Maine, said: “We’re excited for this partnership with ReEnergy, which can lead to more good jobs for rural Maine. Maine’s forest industry is still strong, viable, and well-positioned to seek partnerships with emerging technologies. The time is right to use Maine wood that currently lacks markets to manufacture next-generation products the world is demanding.”
The RFP can be found at www.biobasedmaine.org and www.reenergyholdings.com. Proposals are due by Nov. 30, and ReEnergy hopes to select partner companies by year-end.
Read the full article at http://www.wagmtv.com/content/news/ReEnergy-Celebrates-National-Bioenergy-Day-in-Fort-Fairfield-Announces-Request-for-Proposals-451477723.html
