Flagstaff County, Alta. wins BDO Zone ‘A’ Rating for wheat straw

Flagstaff County, Alta., is the newest community to win a Bioeconomy Development Opportunity Zone ‘A’ Rating.

The county wins the rating for 450,000 oven dry tons per year of wheat straw — the first rating in Alberta for wheat straw.

Ranging in certifications from ‘AAA’ to ‘BBB’, the BDO Zone Initiative certifies regional readiness for bio-based manufacturing to connect communities, who want to action their biomass surplus, with project developers and investors to drive biobased economic development. It was formed in 2021 by Ecostrat Inc.

“The ‘A’ rating underscores Flagstaff County’s immense potential as a regional leader in the bioeconomy,” said Shaina Dunn, economic development co-ordinator for Flagstaff County, in a release.

“We are excited to attract and collaborate with companies in bioenergy, biochemicals, and bioproducts, investing significantly in our region. This commitment to innovation and expansion will not only diversify our agricultural resources but also position Flagstaff County at the forefront of bio-based industrial manufacturing – paving the way for sustainable economic growth and a prosperous future for our community.”

Flagstaff County’s ‘A’ rating signifies exceptional prospective viability for feedstock supply and infrastructure, coupled with minimal default risk in the zone.

The region boasts robust support for new biobased plant operations, underpinned by a multi-generational legacy of wheat production and wheat straw harvesting.

The release said local producers are eager to participate in sustainable and mutually profitable wheat straw initiatives.

There is no competition for wheat straw within the BDO Zone and an investment-ready greenfield industrial park in Flagstaff County, making it the ideal location for biobased projects requiring a reliable supply of wheat straw biomass.

“As the first ‘A’ rating for agricultural residues in Alberta, this BDO Zone highlights Flagstaff County’s proactive approach to harnessing nearly half a million tons of abundant, sustainable wheat straw to unlock new markets for this underutilized biomass,” said Jordan Solomon, chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative, in the release.

The full BDO Zone Rating for Flagstaff County, Alta., can be found here.

A BDO Zone rating is an internationally recognized standards-based technical risk assessment of biomass feedstock, supply chain, and infrastructure risk with respect to the development potential of new biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas, and bioproduct plants.

Investment grade ratings attract new bio-based manufacturing plants to the areas where they are most likely to succeed and create jobs.

Ecostrat’s Advisory Group led the development of the investor Standards for Biomass Supply Chain Risk (BSCR), which provides capital markets with a framework for evaluating and comparing bio-based projects. These standards were formally adopted as a national standard in Canada in 2021 and are slated to be adopted by the American Society for Testing and Materials in the U.S. in 2025. These same standards have been used as the framework to develop BDO Zone ratings.