STATE OF VERMONT

PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD

Petition of Beaver Wood Energy Pownal, LLC )

for a Certificate of Public Good, pursuant to 30 )
V.S.A. § 248, to install and operate a Biomass
Energy Facility and an integrated wood pellet
manufacturing facility located north of the old Docket No
)
Green Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, Vermont, )
to be known as the “Pownal Biomass Project” )

PETITION FOR CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC GOOD

NOW COMES Beaver Wood Energy Pownal, LLC (“BWE”), and files this

Petition, pursuant to 30 V.S.A. § 248 and Public Service Board (the “Board”) Rule 5.400,

requesting that the Board issue a Certificate of Public Good for the Beaver Wood Energy

Pownal Biomass Facility (the “Project”) and requests the expedited of scheduling of a

pre-hearing conference to address BWE’s request for permission to initiate certain limited

construction activity in December of 2010 as set forth in the Motion for Preliminary

Approval filed simultaneously herewith.

By this Petition, B’WE represents as follows:

1. BWE is a Delaware limited liability company registered to do business in the State

of Vermont with an office located at 230 West Street, Rutland, Vermont 05701. Its

members are Thomas Emero, William Bousquet, and Ted Verrill.

2. BWE has developed a project plan to build and operate a 29.5 MW biomass

electric generation facility and fully integrated wood pellet manufacturing plant on certain

leased premises consisting of 45 acres of land located north of the old Green Mountain

Racetrack in Pownal, Vermont.

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Pownal Biomass Project, PSB Docket No.

Petition for Certificate of Public Good
October 25, 2010
Page 2 of 4

3. The Board has granted a Certificate of Public Good to EOS Ventures to develop a

solar facility on lands adjoining the Project site.

4. BWE will access the site pursuant to an existing roadway.

5. The construction cost of the Project is estimated at $250 million.

6. The combined facilities will have a payroll of $3.4 million for 45 employees plus

an annual spending of $9.9 million for contractors. The facilities will be purchasing

$18.2 million annually in forest products from loggers working within a 50 mile radius of

the Project.

7. The construction of the Project is expected to lead to the creation of about 960

jobs in Vermont. Operation of the facility is expected to create over 140 new jobs with a

payroll of over $8 million statewide from 2013 forward. State tax revenues are expected

to increase by over $2.3 million annually with the ongoing operations of the Project.

8. The Project’s contribution to the Pownal Grand List will significantly reduce

local property taxes over the life of the Project.

9. BWE’s Project represents a new technically advanced generation of biomass power

plants. The use of a higher temperature and pressure boiler steam cycle combined with the

use of multiple heaters will make this Plant among the most efficient of its type.

10. The integration of the pellet plant with the biomass generator makes the Project

more energy efficient than other biomass facilities. The use of the power boiler flue gas to

provide drying energy to the pellet dryer is very unique and advanced technology. This

energy that would normally be discharged up the chimney is instead used to dry the high

moisture chips before they are made into dry pellets.

11. Another synergy resulting from the integration of the two facilities is the use of the
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Pownal Biomass Project, PSB Docket No.

Petition for Certificate of Public Good
October 25, 2010
Page 3 of 4

bark that is removed from the logs to make pellets as fuel for the power boiler. As a result,

this bark does not become a waste product. The air emissions from the Project will be the

lowest in the country for a facility of this type.

12. Currently, the schedule contemplates receipt of all required approvals, including a

Certificate of Public Good approving construction of the Project, by the summer of

2011, with construction completed by the end of 2013. In addition, BWE is seeking

Board authorization to undertake certain limited construction activity beginning in

December of 2010. The rationale underlying this request is explained in the Motion for

Preliminary Approval filed simultaneously herewith.

13. BWE currently proposes to connect to the CVPS transmission system by way of a

new 45kV line with an interconnection point on CVPS’s transmission system in Pownal.

BWE expects to receive a final feasibility study from ISO NE in the very near future.

Once the feasibility study is completed, work will begin on a System Impact Study. BWE

has consulted with CVPS and VELCO with respect to the proposed interconnection and to

date no concerns have been raised as to any negative impacts on system reliability or

stability associated with the proposed interconnection. BWE will finance the construction

of all necessary transmission lines and related infrastructure.

14. BWE submits this petition seeking authorization pursuant to 30 V.S.A. § 248 to
construct and operate the Project in accordance with the plans and evidence submitted

herewith.

15. In support of this petition, BWE submits testimony and exhibits that address each of

the Section 248(b) criteria.

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Pownal Biomass Project, PSB Docket No.

Petition for Certificate of Public Good
October 25, 2010
Page 4 of 4

Request for Relief

WHEREFORE, BWE respectfully requests that the Board:

A. Hold an expedited prehearing conference as expeditiously as possible to address

BWE’s request to undertake certain limited construction activities Beginning in December,
2010;

B. Grant BWE’s Motion for Preliminary Approval of certain limited construction

activities.

C. Hold technical hearings as the Board determines in the early Spring of 2011;

D. Make findings as required by 30 V.S.A. § 248 finding that BWE shall be

authorized to construct and operate a 29.5 MW biomass electric generation facility in
Pownal, Vermont, and that the Project will promote the general good of the State of
Vermont, and authorize BWE to undertake the actions described herein and in the
attached testimony and exhibits and issue a Certificate of Public Good to that effect;
and

E. Take such other action as may be required for the expeditious review of this
Petition.

DATED: October 26, 2010

Hans .Uuessy, c:’

KenJan’Sdtwiy & Goss, P.C.
71 Allen Street, Ste. 401
P. 0. Box 578
Rutland. Vermont 05702-0578
hhuessy@kenlanlaw.com

Attorneys for Petitioner