The Koochiching Economic Development Authority Board decided to set up a working group to become informed about the potential for biomass business in Koochiching County.
“Biomass is getting more attention,” said KEDA Director Paul Nevanen. “It is just a question of time until biomass comes to the area.”
Biomass is biological material derived from living or recently living organisms such as wood, waste and alcohol fuels.
The biomass working group would be comprised of interested board and community members. Each person on the board was asked to recruit one additional member for the working group.
Nevanen said that it was a good idea to get out in front of the curve on this renewable energy source, as the search for alternative fuels continues.
The purpose of the group would be to inform members of the community on biomass industry best practices. These group members would then act as contacts for parties considering biomass projects.
KEDA Board member Mike Hanson expressed his interest in the topic. He said that for years nobody locally had been able to find a way to make money in the biomass industry, even though this area has an abundance of the raw products. Currently, the industry is growing.
Board alternate Soren Olesen discussed the possibility of shipping the raw material out of the county to other biomass facilities in Minnesota, instead of having a local processing facility.
The biomass working group would likely meet several times a year.
The discussion of biomass projects tied into a larger-scale discussion on goals for the economic development organization.
Board members were given “homework” to review action steps related to one of KEDA’s goals — promoting employment opportunities for Koochiching County residents.
To meet that goal, 14 “action steps” were outlined in June 2008. The board was to review these steps and suggest changes at the next KEDA Board meeting. The other two goals — encouraging collaboration in support of economic opportunities and promoting the KEDA — would be reviewed at a subsequent meeting.
Nevanen gave the group a brief history on one of the KEDA top priorities — marketing the foreign trade zone. Although tenants for the site have not been secured, Nevanen said that steps have been taken to promote and ready the site for the future.
To that end, Dave Serrano of Arro of the North, showed the board a map of the area. One suggestion that he and Nevanen made was to develop a site concept for the upland FTZ development, which could be a “shovel-ready” option. Wetland mitigation plans are still underway, and work in lower areas would need to wait to be completed.
However, the KEDA has asked for bids for tree removal and grubbing at the site. Tree removal could be done on the property, but grubbing on wetlands would not be allowed until mitigation plans are finalized.
Nevanen showed the board a recent advertisement for the FTZ with a picture of Rainy Lake as the focus. He suggested instead that a depiction of portions of the site as “shovel ready” may be more effective in marketing the project.
Nevanen told the board that one point of good news regarding the Renewable Energy Clean Air Project plasma gasification facility is that Gov. Tim Pawlenty did not line-item veto $2.5 million for the project from the state’s bonding bill. This will allow the state dollars to match federal funds already allocated for design work, permitting and pre-construction. Nevanen said that this action signals continued support for the waste-to-energy facility, currently in the feasibility study stage.
The KEDA Board decided not to pursue proposed KEDA office space at the Backus Community Center, citing rental cost and neccesary renovations as too expensive. The KEDA offices are currently located near the alley entrance to Wells Fargo bank in downtown International Falls.
