Lewis County, Washington Named North America’s First Insurable BDO Zone, Bringing Insurance-Backed Feedstock Cost Certainty to Biomass Investment

Biomass projects in the Zone fast tracked for Feedstock Supply Insurance™ that caps delivered feedstock costs for up to 10 years

AVON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ecostrat, New Energy Risk and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County today announced that the Lewis County, Washington BDO Zone for Woody Biomass has been designated the first Insurable BDO Zone. The Zone’s 'AA' Rating has been upgraded to 'AA Insurable' following a preliminary finding by New Energy Risk that the Zone meets its initial underwriting pre-screening criteria for Feedstock Supply Insurance™ (FSI).

Under the designation, projects located in Lewis County may reserve a portion of the Zone's 600,000 bone-dry tons per year of insurable supply in their own name at a designated Insured Cost Cap range. Each reservation holder will receive an expedited Non-Binding Indication of FSI terms, giving developers and their lenders early visibility into feedstock cost protection well ahead of final investment decision.

“Investors evaluating Lewis County consistently ask two questions: is the fiber available, and what will it cost over the life of a facility,” said Todd Chaput, Executive Director, Economic Alliance of Lewis County. “Our BDO Zone rating answered the first. This designation answers the second and gives Lewis County a site-selection advantage no other region can offer today.”

“Feedstock risk has long been the point at which promising biomass projects stall,” said Jordan Solomon, President of Ecostrat and Chairman of the BDO Zone Initiative. “By pairing a BDO Zone Rating with insurance prequalification, an Insurable BDO Zone puts another powerful tool in the toolbox for local economic developers. Lewis County is the first, and we expect it to set the standard for regions across North America.”

“NER is committed to supporting the growth of the bioeconomy and Ecostrat and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County share this vision,” said George Schulz, CEO of New Energy Risk. “The BDO Zone Initiative demonstrates Ecostrat’s keen insight to woodwaste value streams that enables access to feedstock supply insurance that will further the success of biofuel project development.”

Additional information is available at www.ecostrat.com/fsi/insurable-bdo-zones.

Important information

The designation is not a supply agreement. It does not purchase, allocate or price biomass and creates no obligation for any landowner, harvester, sawmill or other supplier, each of whom will continue to transact with new projects on commercial terms of their choosing.

This release is provided for information only and does not constitute an offer of insurance. The Insurable BDO Zone designation and associated certificates are not insurance policies, binders or commitments to provide coverage, and do not state or imply any amount of insurance capacity. Any policy is subject to full underwriting of the specific project by New Energy Risk and its insurance capacity partners, and to the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of the policy as issued. The Insured Price Cap range is the range within which project-specific caps are expected to be set and is not a quotation.

About Ecostrat

Ecostrat is the North American leader in biomass supply chain advisory and due diligence for biofuel, renewable chemical, biogas and bioproduct project development and finance. Ecostrat is the founding partner of the BDO Zone Initiative. www.ecostrat.com

About IBRA

The International Biomass Rating Agency (IBRA) is the global rating agency for BDO Zones, providing standardized opinions on regional biomass supply chain risk that help project developers, investors and governments identify regions ready for biomanufacturing. IBRA supports a worldwide network of licensees of Ecostrat's BDO Zone rating framework. www.ibraratings.org

About New Energy Risk

New Energy Risk is a pioneer of large-scale, breakthrough technology performance insurance solutions. The company provides complex risk assessment and serves as a bridge between technology innovators, financiers, and insurers. Insurance policies are administered through New Energy Risk affiliate, Complex Risk and Insurance Associates, LLC, CA License #0I24307. New Energy Risk is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paragon Insurance Holdings. Learn more: www.newenergyrisk.com.

About Paragon Insurance Holdings

Paragon Insurance Holdings, along with its subsidiaries Reel Media LLC and New Energy Risk, is a managing general agency formed in 2014. The Paragon group of companies provides specialty insurance solutions across domestic and international markets, offering a diverse portfolio of programs and writing all commercial lines of business. For more information, visit Paragon Insurance Holdings.