Lewis County, Washington Named North America’s First Insurable BDO Zone
In Washington state, Ecostrat, New Energy Risk and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County today announced that the Lewis County, Washington BDO Zone for Woody Biomass has been designated the first Insurable BDO Zone. The Zone’s ‘AA’ Rating has been upgraded to ‘AA Insurable’ following a preliminary finding by New Energy Risk that the Zone meets its initial underwriting pre-screening criteria for Feedstock Supply Insurance™ (FSI).
Under the designation, projects located in Lewis County may reserve a portion of the Zone’s 600,000 bone-dry tons per year of insurable supply in their own name at a designated Insured Cost Cap range. Each reservation holder will receive an expedited Non-Binding Indication of FSI terms, giving developers and their lenders early visibility into feedstock cost protection well ahead of final investment decision.
“Investors evaluating Lewis County consistently ask two questions: is the fiber available, and what will it cost over the life of a facility,” said Todd Chaput, Executive Director, Economic Alliance of Lewis County. “Our BDO Zone rating answered the first. This designation answers the second and gives Lewis County a site-selection advantage no other region can offer today.”
“Feedstock risk has long been the point at which promising biomass projects stall,” said Jordan Solomon, President of Ecostrat and Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative. “By pairing a BDO Zone Rating with insurance prequalification, an Insurable BDO Zone puts another powerful tool in the toolbox for local economic developers. Lewis County is the first, and we expect it to set the standard for regions across North America.” 2 | Page
“NER is committed to supporting the growth of the bioeconomy and Ecostrat and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County share this vision,” said George Schulz, CEO of New Energy Risk. “The BDO Zone Initiative demonstrates Ecostrat’s keen insight to woodwaste value streams that enables access to feedstock supply insurance that will further the success of biofuel project development.”
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