ENERGIZE Clinton County

Wilmington seeing benefits of community vision

October 30, 2009

As the Wilmington News Journal (Gary Huffenberger) reported this morning, Gaia Energy, a European-based biomass company has incorporated its U.S. subsidiary in Ohio and will be based in Clinton County (Wilmington). Energize Clinton County came in contact with Gaia earlier in the year through our website and our work with the community in establishing the country’s first Green Enterprise Zone in Wilmington. Gaia,  company that in addition to biomass, is also pursuing opportunities for solar installations and building local capacity and understanding of advanced-energy technologies.

Last week, Gaia Energy participated in Ohio’s first-ever corn cob harvesting trial together with Vermeer, an agricultural and construction equipment manufacturing company, using Vermeer’s cob harvesting equipment at Beam Farms near Sabina. Officials stopped by the Beam Farms on Stone Road to see the cob harvesting in action, including Mark Shanahan, the executive director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, and Chris Meyer, director of renewable energy for the Dayton Development Coalition. The goal is to build an understanding of the logistics involved in collecting and utilizing agricultural wastes, and the (scalable) potential it has for creating energy.

Per the report, Erico Matias Tavares, a director at Gaia said, “We are absolutely delighted to be here and very much look forward to working with our local partners in implementing various opportunities that will not only boost the county’s green energy credentials but also support the local economy.”

In July, Tavares told Clinton County commissioners, “Ohio is blessed with highly productive fields and plentiful amounts of biomass, but it also has access to ample quantities of cheap coal, which effectively puts a cap on biomass margins.”

We also believe that Ohio, and many other rural areas are not just blessed, but are also critical in building a foundation for future energy technologies in the U.S. In order to capitalize on this potential, there needs to be more efforts, similar to Gaia’s, of gaining an understanding of the obstacles and opportunities involved in this frontier of development. By having communities participate in the process, we can build a more sustainable bedrock for future growth in these fields.

Thanks to the News Journal’s Gary Huffenberger for the report.

For more information on Gaia Energy, please visit: www.gaiaenergy.eu

Pictured left to right at Beam Farms near Sabina are Todd Nein, project manager for the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, Erico Matias Tavares, director for Gaia Energy, Chris Meyer, director of renewable energy for Dayton Development Coalition, Mark Shanahan, executive director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, and Jay Van Roekel, segment manager with Vermeer. (Contributed Photo)

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: biomass, Energize Clinton County, energy, Gaia, Green Enterprise Zone, solar.