A Washington state-based bioenergy company is exploring potential development of the borough’s 6-Mile mill property.
Next week, Dale Borgford and other members of Borgford BioEnergy will fly to Wrangell ahead of a Wednesday, Dec. 18, public workshop with borough officials. The workshop will explore whether Borgford is a good fit for the property and vice versa.
The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Since purchasing the mill site for $2.5 million in 2022, the borough has wanted to cater the property toward economic development. Borough officials hope the upcoming workshop can provide insight into whether a possible deal with Borgford could spur the development they seek.
The company outlined some preliminary information in a project proposal it sent to the borough. Its aim is to build a “low profile … plant capable of converting locally generated biomass waste material, including municipal solid waste, into fresh water, food and other valuable products.”
However, borough officials are taking a cautious approach until more details are made clear next week.
“I would caution the borough to be a champion of this,” Economic Development Director Kate Thomas said. “Avoid getting starstruck by an opportunity.”
Even if an eventual deal is reached with Borgford, the borough does not intend on selling or leasing the entire property to a single entity. For example, City Hall has received a $421,000 federal grant that could help cover the some early costs of relocating the downtown barge ramp to 6-Mile.
“The borough envisions a multi-use site,” Thomas said, adding that the Borgford proposal would not account for the entire mill property.
Thomas and the borough’s economic development board met on Dec. 3 to plan for the upcoming workshop. She made clear that no one from the borough has many details — either about Borgford BioEnergy or what specific aims they have for the potential Wrangell project.
She described the upcoming workshop as the next step in the “vetting process,” and that the borough’s goal is to make public as many facts as possible.
Borgford BioEnergy, which is operating under the name Alaska BioEnergy for the potential project, has explored waste-to-energy plants in Alaska previously. Thomas said they attempted to buy land in Juneau as recently as last year, but there was no municipal land available and the company could not reach an agreement with a private seller.
In its project proposal, the company touted its “Octaflame combustion process … a unique bio-burning technology developed by Dale Borgford (the company’s co-owner).” The company claims its technology is more efficient and capable of producing higher temperatures than conventional biomass burners.
With no Borgford waste-to-energy plants currently in operation that can serve as reference points, the Dec. 18 workshop will give the borough an opportunity to delve into some of the company’s claims and whether Wrangell is a suitable location for the plant.
The plant, according to Borgford, would provide “40 full-time jobs … large volumes of greenhouse grown fruits and vegetables for the community … 50,000 gallons of purified water products per day for public consumption … and 3,000 tons of dry fish fertilizer produced from cannery waste.”
However, some members of Wrangell’s economic development board were skeptical about Borgford’s claims. Board member Austin O’Brien was uncertain if Wrangell even produces enough biowaste to fuel such a facility. He suggested possibly shipping in biowaste from other Southeast communities if Wrangell’s contributions fall short.
Borgford delegates are scheduled to arrive in town on Dec. 13. They will conduct a site tour of the 6-Mile property on Dec. 16 before the borough conducts internal meetings with the developers on Dec. 17.
Members of the assembly, planning and zoning commission, port commission, economic development board and borough staff will all be in attendance at the Dec. 18 workshop. Though the two-hour presentation is open to the community, the public’s involvement will be limited. However, if discussions continue to progress between City Hall and Borgford, a town hall meeting will be held in the near future, which could provide ample opportunity for members of the community to ask questions, according to borough officials
When reached for comment, Borgford officials said they want to get to town and complete their evaluation of the site before speaking on the record with the Sentinel.
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