Arlington, OR Awarded Third BDO Zone Designation in North America

(BDO Zone) Port of Portland, SkyNRG Americas and Ecostrat are pleased to announce the issuance of a new Bioeconomy Development Opportunity Zone (BDO Zone) designation for Arlington, Oregon. The ‘A’ Rating for the biogenic portion of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) supply in Arlington’s BDO Zone is expected to drive new market development for bioeconomy projects that can utilize the region’s more than 2.7 million tons of MSW generated per year.

A BDO Zone rating signals that a region has undergone rigorous and extensive due diligence using over 100 standardized, transparent, and validated risk indicators based on the BSCR Standards for biobased investment. “A” and “AA” BDO Zone Ratings identify areas in the country best positioned for low-risk bioeconomy project development.

The Port of Portland supported Oregon’s first BDO Zone Risk Rating in Arlington, Oregon with the hopes of attracting investments in the production of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel. Jenn Bies, Director, Environmental Operations says: “This type of development would create jobs in a more rural part of the state to mitigate the risks of climate change. Achieving these goals requires the swift acceleration of viable solutions that are attainable and affordable in our regional market. We’re hoping that Arlington’s ‘A’ rating will lead to increased production of these essential biofuels in Oregon and enable us to deliver on our critical short term environmental priorities of reducing greenhouse gas and air toxics emissions associated with the Port’s facilities.”

Jordan Solomon, CEO of Ecostrat, states: “BDO Zones do three key things: they help project developers identify new project locations easier and faster; they help investors more quickly deploy capital in these regions; and they help communities create new clean energy jobs. Oftentimes, small communities don’t have the platform or the credibility to promote themselves as great areas for future biobased development. BDO Zone designations change that, and raise the flag over these communities as some of the best areas in the country to build the next bio-based plant.”

John Plaza, President and CEO of SkyNRG Americas says: “As leaders in the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), we know that access to feedstocks such as municipal solid wastes will be key to successful SAF production across the nation. The combined effort put forth into this BDO Zone Risk Rating will accelerate the deployment of SAF production in the region, and it creates much-needed market intelligence to facilitate investment decisions and risk analysis to enable the production of SAF in a sustainable and commercially scalable way.”

American biomass provides an economic development engine with the potential to create 160,000 jobs and nearly $15 billion of economic benefit. The BDO Zone Initiative can help the U.S. realize this potential by supporting new market development for American bioenergy, advanced biofuels, biobased heat and power, bio-materials, and clean hydrogen.

For more information on the Arlington, OR BDO Zone, or to read the full Risk Rating report, visit https://bdozone.org/.

The city of Arlington, Oregon is located in the Greater Eastern Region of the state in Gilliam County. The city is home to Columbia Ridge landfill (Waste Management) which receives a significant amount of MSW from Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. The city is part of the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and is considered a fast-growing MSA in the United States. Geographically, Arlington is located two-hours east of Portland and positioned uniquely along the Columbia River bordering Washington state.

For inquiries relating to project development or investment in Gilliam County, please contact Elizabeth Farrar Campbell, Gilliam County Judge, at elizabeth.farrar@co.gilliam.or.us or visit www.co.gilliam.or.us.

The Port of Portland is a public agency that connects people and passengers with the world, drives economic growth, and improves the region’s quality of life. The Port of Portland manages three airports, four marine terminals and five business parks. The Port of Portland is striving to achieve net-zero carbon for the Port’s direct emissions and indirect emissions from purchased electricity by 2050 and is working to implement climate change solutions through energy efficiency and working with their airlines and tenants to move away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy and alternative fuels.

To learn more about the Port of Portland, visit: www.portofportland.com. To connect directly with Jenn Bies, Environmental Operations Director, email Jenn.Bies@portofportland.com.

SkyNRG Americas is a team of industry-leading professionals focused on building Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production facilities throughout North America. Supported by parent company, SkyNRG, based in Amsterdam, NL, the SkyNRG Americas team is dedicated to creating sustainable and scalable solutions for aviation that will lead to the commercialization of SAF production and drive the aviation industry’s transition to clean energy.

For more information about SkyNRG Americas, visit: www.skynrgamericas.com or email John Plaza, President and CEO, at john@skynrgamericas.com.

Jordan Solomon is Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative and President of Ecostrat. Jordan led the USDOE/BETO funded project to develop the new investment Standards and Ratings for Biomass Supply Chain Risk. He has overseen development and operation of biomass supply chains for over 5,000,000 tons of feedstock over two decades for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects. He can be reached at jordan.solomon@ecostrat.com.

Ecostrat’s Biomass Supply Group has over 25 years of experience in sourcing and supplying over 5 million tons of biomass feedstock for bioenergy, biofuel, and biochemical projects across North America. Its Advisory Group combines the BSCR Standards with powerful predictive analytics to understand and minimize supply chain risk.