On Tuesday, March 2nd we provided information on Fibrowatt to the Page County Board of Supervisors and interested local residents. Prior to this meeting, the Company had been encouraged to consider the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley through regional economic development meetings and the interest of the poultry industry and Virginia’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Like several States in the U.S., Virginia is home to a very successful poultry industry. As indicated by the Virginia Poultry Federation, poultry farming and processing contributed $900,000,000 to the Commonwealth’s economy in 2008. Within the Shenandoah Valley, poultry farming in 2008 was a part of 900 individual farms and the poultry industry directly employed 5,000 people and indirectly supported 36,000 jobs. Within the Valley, this successful industry also generates a lot of poultry litter.

Based on the primary location of the industry in the Shenandoah Valley, poultry growers have limited options and are now being challenged to identify additional sustainable means to manage their poultry litter. Furthermore, state governments surrounding the Chesapeake Bay are under increasing pressure to reduce the flow of nutrients into the Bay. To meet these challenges, the Commonwealth has spent significant time evaluating a number of options and we have been identified as a solution that can meet the needs of the region – a solution that they have identified as the only proven solution with a successful track record.

Within the Shenandoah Valley and Page County, the poultry industry is a major anchor industry. Recognizing the importance of the industry to the County’s economy, the Page County Economic Development Authority (EDA) moved very quickly in expressing support for a Fibrowatt plant. To further pursue this opportunity, Fibrowatt was requested to provide an overview to the Page County Board of Supervisors. During the presentation, we offered

  1. information on our company,
  2. the Fibrowatt alternative for converting poultry litter to renewable energy,
  3. where the company was in investigating a project in Virginia,
  4. what the development process would be going forward, and
  5. the need for and benefits of a Fibrowatt plant in the region.

We also attempted to answer many of the questions that have been raised by the general public prior to this meeting.

At the end of the meeting, we were discouraged by the reaction of several of the Supervisors but at such an early stage it is not unusual for people to react in such a cautious way. As we indicated in the meeting, this informational presentation came before we were able to actually begin looking in detail at sites in the County. Based on discussions with several of the participants, we also feel that the reaction was in many cases a reflection on the politics related to the site that the EDA was interested in using – the Project Clover site.

What has been overlooked in the portrayal of this meeting is that we had not even begun to evaluate sites for a Virginia project and have in no way chosen Page County as the host for such a project. In the same way the public was there to learn about Fibrowatt, we too were there to learn about Page County and the direction they are going as a community. Our direction in siting a plant is importantly done in conjunction with a community’s long term plans.

While we are sure that our solution would be a substantial benefit for the County, only Page County can decide where they see their community going. As we indicated on Tuesday, this would be a regional solution for poultry litter management in the state – a solution that will benefit all of the area regardless of the final site selected.