The Economic Alliance of Lewis County will host a Bioeconomy Summit this week.
The event will take place in the TransAlta Commons at Centralia College from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 14. The conference will focus on Lewis County’s potential for a natural resource-based economy and energy through biomass, and will include keynote speakers from the United States Department of Agriculture, the American Forest Resource Council and the Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) zone.
In January, Lewis County received an “AA” BDO Zone rating for pulpwood, forest residues and sawmill residues, the first such rating in the state.
The event will include presentations from:
• Chris Cassidy, national business renewable energy adviser for USDA
• Matt Cominsky, state manager at American Forest Resource Council
• A BDO Zone update from Bob Russell
• Tom McCoy, C6 Innovations and Washington State University
• Ernesto Estacio, Terranova Fuels
• Dr. Rick Gustafson, University of Washington
According to a previous news release from the Economic Alliance of Lewis County, the county exhibits “very high quality” fiber supply chains and stable lumber markets. The county also features more than 10 companies with dedicated pulpwood chipping capacity and generates more than 600,000 bone-dried tons of woody biomass. Combined with the region’s industrial infrastructure, the county is ideal for large-scale bio-based projects, according to the release.
To RSVP, email eric@lewiscountyalliance.org or call 360-748-0114
