Laidlaw Berlin BioPower, LLC
Laidlaw BioPower, LLC, an affiliate of Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc., acquired portions of the former Fraser Paper Mill located in Berlin, NH , with the objective of converting and upgrading the remaining infrastructure into a 65 megawatt biomass-energy power plant ("the Facility").
The Facility will become Homeland Laidlaw Energy's ("HLE") Berlin biomass-energy project (the "Berlin Project"), representing one of the largest and most environmentally sound biomass-energy facilities in the United States. The Berlin Project is expected to utilize up to 750,000 tons of clean wood chips per year in order to generate approximately 65 megawatts of electricity.
The fuel source for the Berlin Project will be whole tree wood chips and other low-grade wood, often referred to as "biomass materials", which are by-products of local forest products and sustainable land management activities. Generally, whole tree chips are produced from trees unsuitable for use in lumber or paper mills, or from the tops and branches of harvested trees. Other clean wood products, such as wood residue from sawmills, are also suitable for fuel. Biomass fuel will be transported to the facility in trucks that carry approximately 25 tons. The site also has rail access, which uniquely offers the Berlin Project an opportunity to utilize an alternative fuel delivery option.
The Berlin Project is an important development for New Hampshire's North Country. Over the past decade or more, the regional economy has been hit hard by a significant number of pulp and paper mill closures, resulting in a large loss of area jobs and a substantial reduction in biomass consumption. The Berlin Project will help reverse this trend by investing roughly $25 million per annum into the regional economy for biomass fuel purchases, thus generating substantial local economic activity for loggers, truckers and other local businesses. The Berlin Project also represents an important new source of local tax revenue and direct employment.
