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Millinocket paper mill revitalization could include wood pellet facility and rail upgrades

In this Tuesday, March 8, 2011 photo, a paper mill sits idle in Millinocket, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty
/
AP
In this Tuesday, March 8, 2011 photo, a paper mill sits idle in Millinocket, Maine.

A wood pellet production facility and expanded rail lines are at the center of a new proposal to revitalize the former Great Northern Paper mill in Millinocket.

The non-profit Our Katahdin said Monday that Arkansas-based Highland Carbon Solutions (HCS) has agreed to build and operate a wood pellet manufacturing facility at the mill.

Expanded rail lines would deliver pellets made in Millinocket to Mack Point in Searsport, said Steve Sanders, who's leading development at the mill site. The pellets would be shipped to Europe.

"This is really a new opportunity for Maine that hasn't existed before," he said. "It's going to take all these efforts, combined with the rail and port improvements, for this to be a reality. Otherwise, we just are not competitive with the other parts of the country who can deliver pellets to Europe cheaper."

Our Katahdin and the Maine Department of Transportation have applied for a federal grant, which would provide nearly $57 million to expand and upgrade existing rail lines and make necessary infrastructure improvements at Mack Point.

NBM Railways and Canadian Pacific Railway, which will own the 106-mile rail corridor, have joined Our Katahdin and the Maine DOT in applying for the grant with the Federal Railroad Administration. If they're successful, Highland Carbon Solutions and NBM Railways would provide matching funds.

The Maine DOT would manage the grant money, which would fund a rail line extension and safety improvements, in addition to infrastructure upgrades at Mack Point.

“The Mack Point terminal in Searsport is a versatile and well-equipped marine cargo and rail terminal that connects Maine’s forest products to global markets," said Matt Burns, executive director of the Maine Port Authority.

Sanders said the team is confident that it will receive federal grant funding, and design and permitting for the rail improvements are expected to begin next year, with construction scheduled for 2024.

The wood pellets themselves would be made from residuals from Maine sawmills, Our Katahdin said.

The non-profit has been trying to redevelop the former mill, which it recently branded as the One North industrial site, for several years. The non-profit views the proposed wood pellet manufacturing facility as the center of a bigger forest products campus at the former mill.

Sanders believes the project will attract other companies with similar specialties.

"We definitely think success will get success," he said. "An anchor in the forest products industry is super important for us to jumpstart that sector."

Discussions to lure an aquaculture company to build and operate a facility at the former mill site are also underway, Sanders said.

And Our Katahdin is still working with Nautilus Data Technologies, a California-based company that says it creates environmentally-friendly data centers, to develop a site a location on the One North property.

Initial plans had Nautilus near the rail lines on the property, but Sanders said discussions are underway to locate the company at another location.