Laidlaw asks shareholders for patience

Laidlaw Energy Group is asking its shareholders for patience in the approval of its new biomass-to-energy project in New York, stalled by a local planning board.

In a letter to shareholders today, President & CEO Michael B. Bartoszek outlined five major hurdles Laidlaw has had to overcome since embarking on its wood-to-energy plant in Ellicottville, New York (see Laidlaw and its clean woody.)

Among those challenges: landing a $1M grant, sourcing low-cost refurbished equipment, finding sufficient funding, monetizing the project's RECs, and getting a local air permit.

Now, the company is asking shareholders to bear with it just a little longer.

"Planning boards in New York, influenced by local politics and NIMBYism, have been known to try to delay decisions on matters such as ours for as long as possible. Whether it is another three weeks or three months, a decision is imminent and we are well within our rights to make the proposed upgrades at our existing, permitted facility," said Bartoszek.

Bartoszek says the company is also continuing to pursue additional grant funding and other "transactions" that it expects will improve the overall enterprise value of the project, as well as potential future cash flows.

Laidlaw says its mission is to build and manage a profitable portfolio of renewable energy facilities through development, acquisition, and/or conversion of existing facilities, and through partnering with manufacturers that have significant electric and thermal needs.

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