Libby in Montana, US issued ‘A’-rated BDO Zone Designation for woody biomass

The BDO Zone Initiative has issued an ‘A’ rated Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone designation for Libby, Montana for more than 225,000 green tons per year of woody biomass.
"AA" and "A" BDO Zone Ratings identify the areas in the country that are best-positioned for low-risk bioeconomy project development.
Lincoln County Port Authority (LCPA) and Ecostratare have annonuced the issue of a BDO Zone for Libby, Montana - a town located within the Kootenai National Forest in the northwest corner of the state in Lincoln County, and home to approximately 2,800 residents.
Libby's 'A' Rating for Forest, Pulpwood & Sawmill Residuals is expected to drive new market development for bioeconomy projects that can utilise the region's 225,000-275,000 green tons per year of available woody biomass.
The Libby, MT BDO Zone is rated ‘A’, or low-risk, based on its strong assets such as reliable anchor suppliers, available forest products labour market and limited competing markets for its forest residuals and pulp wood.
The ‘A’ Rating issue further indicates that Libby merits strong consideration as a location for new bio-based development that requires stable, long-term supplies of wood fibre.
“With the Kootenai National Forest growing over 800,000,000 board feet of woody biomass a year, it makes sense for Lincoln County to pursue a BDO Zone Rating,” said Lincoln County Commissioner Jerry Bennett. “This ‘A’ rating provides the opportunity to affordably manage our forest and private grounds, while attracting new market development to the County.”
The BDO Zone extends an 80-mile drive distance from Libby and is centred around the Kootenai Business Park, an optimal location for incoming biobased projects.
“The clean energy market is growing at an unprecedented pace, and rural communities need the tools to keep up on a competitive global stage,” said Jordan Solomon, chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative. “Libby’s BDO Zone rating is a powerful signal to project developers worldwide that Libby has undergone rigorous and extensive due diligence using over 100 standardised, transparent, and validated risk indicators based on the BSCR Standards for biobased investment.
"Libby’s BDO Zone rating fills a critical need for more credible financial tools that empower rural regions to gain attention at the international level and enable local communities to leverage local biomass assets to attract new biobased manufacturing plants, and create jobs."