Methane fuel plant targets commercial clients
Rendering/Courtesy Maine Liquid Methane Fuels
The proposed liquid methane fuel plant in Brewer would include processing and storage facilities, administrative offices and a truck terminal.
Proponents of a liquefied methane fuel plant in Brewer are marketing a cleaner and cheaper fuel option to greater Bangor businesses, part of the business strategy surrounding the $30-$50 million project.
Maine Liquid Methane Fuels LLC has signed an option agreement with the city to build its facility on 10 acres within Brewer's nascent industrial park and formal plans go before the planning board Feb. 1. But Sasa Cook, vice president of Maine Liquid Methane Fuels, has been drumming up support for the project for months, meeting with prospective clients and negotiating for access to the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline, the source for the natural gas products. Methane is a component of natural gas.
Last night he presented plans at a public information session. "It went very well," says Cook. "There were a lot of good questions" about truck traffic, emissions and public safety, all of which, Cook told Mainebiz, he believes were addressed.
Brewer's proximity to highways, the pipeline and potential clients, especially large industrial users like paper mills and ski resorts, were key in the decision to locate there, he says. The plant will manufacture liquid methane gas into a product that can be used instead of No. 2 heating oil, and can be refined into a transportation grade fuel that can substitute for diesel.
"This will not only reduce our reliance on refined petroleum, but will also be a significant reduction in cost to the user and produce a cleaner environment," Cook says. "We think we can sell our product at a 15 to 20% discount over what a commercial client typically pays for No. 2 petroleum."
The "we" is Cook and Chris Hosford, president of Portsmouth, N.H.-based CHI Engineering Services Inc., which is managing the project for an investor group that owns Maine Liquid Methane Fuels. CHI Engineering has a long history of involvement in energy projects from California to Massachusetts. Hosford worked on a California facility nearly identical to the one proposed for Brewer, says Cook, ironing out any imperfections in the process.
"The only difference is our sub-Arctic winters," says Cook. "Most of the equipment in California is outdoors while our facility here will have most of its components indoors."
Tanya Pereira, economic development specialist for the city, says she is very excited about the plant's potential to drive investment in the area.
"This is much bigger than just an investment in Brewer," she says. "This will be a huge asset for economic development within the region. For any business within a two-hour radius, this makes sense to consider as a cleaner and less expensive fuel. That's the No. 1 complaint I hear, especially from industrial customers, who are screaming for relief (from high energy costs)."
Cook says if the project clears the local planning board, he will begin the permitting process with the state. If all goes well there, he hopes to begin construction early this summer. He has already lined up several Maine-based companies to work on the project: Woodard & Curran for civil engineering; Haley and Aldrich for geotechnical engineering; and Pierce Atwood for legal counsel. Once the state permits are in hand, Cook says he will begin looking for additional financing for the project.
The facility is expected to employ between 12 and 20 people, and an additional six to 10 positions to run the company's delivery fleet of eight to 10 trucks. Cook says the specially designed trailers that haul the liquefied methane gas have to transport the fuel at -250 degrees Fahrenheit and cost $250,000 each. The tractors will likely be leased from a Bangor area company, he says. If demand for the methane-based fuels takes off, the facility has the potential to quadruple production and delivery.
Maine Liquid Methane Fuels will be the first tenant in the city's business park off Wiswell Road.
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