Alpha Prospects Limited
(“Alpha” or the “Company”)
Local Support in Utah for Advanced Biomass Solutions
Alpha Prospects Limited, the investment management company focussed on innovative energy companies, is pleased to inform shareholders of an update issued by its investee company Active Energy Group Plc:
“Active Energy, the London quoted international biomass based renewable energy and forestry management and business, has received a letter of support from the Governor’s Office of Energy Development in Utah regarding Advanced Biomass Solutions Plc’s (‘ABS’) plans for the CoalSwitch™ plant and in particular Active Energy’s intention to deliver product for commercial scale testing to power facilities in the state. It also highlighted its support of ABS’s activities and that it is looking forward to the expansion of activities in Utah. The full copy of the letter is reproduced below.
The Governor’s Office of Energy Development (‘OED’) appreciates the efforts of ABS in providing Utah affordable energy alternatives and finding innovative approaches to create commercial opportunities in the State. Utah offers many resources to support this type of development, including natural resources for feedstock and support from Rocky Mountain Power through its STEP program. The State also recognises ABS’ contribution to the local economy through its direct hiring of skilled labour and its commitment to partnering with Utah manufacturing and suppliers for its acquisition of process and plant equipment. To date, ABS has made significant investment in Utah’s economy and expects these contributions to grow as they add jobs in rural Utah and along the Wasatch Front.
In particular, OED supports ABS efforts to advance technological solutions to better utilise Utah’s natural resources. ABS intends to temporarily set-up, test, validate and program their 5 tonne per hour “Coal Switch” plant in Salt Lake City. This plant will operate for a temporary period to create process algorithms, validate system performance and create product for Rocky Mountain Power to utilise in a commercial scale test. This test supports the STEP Grant approved by the Utah Legislature in 2016, seeking an alternative coal supplement material to be tested at the Hunter Power Plant located in Castle Dale, Utah in early 2018. This temporary ABS plant will produce approximately 450 tonnes of material to be used for this STEP Grant test and additional material to be analysed by industry.
If ABS’ test is successful, OED anticipates continued investment by installing a permanent plant in Utah. Such investment will add tremendous value to the State by generating new jobs, expand manufacturing, and support important industries like trucking, supply chain purchasing, and agriculture. Additionally, ABS’ process promotes environmental stewardship through clean air initiatives and encourages new forms of renewable energy production.
By advancing strategic partnerships, OED is proud to pave the way for next-generation technology that supports both local and rural economic development. The innovative clean energy solutions proposed by ABS will result in a cleaner emission profile for Utah. This technology could also facilitate the increased utilisation of Utah’s biomass feedstocks to blend with high-energy coal resources for power generation.
In addition to the aforementioned benefits, this technology would create environmental value by reducing forestry and agricultural waste, mitigating invasive species impact such as pinyon juniper and greenhouse gas emissions, while mitigating forest fire risk by utilizing these waste materials to create an environmentally friendly, sustainable, carbon neutral fuel that can be used as a supplementary source for Utah’s coal power generation. This product also lends itself to be used as a high heat value clean alternative for the multi-million-dollar pellet stove industry. It is our understanding that ABS is also working with several Utah companies to apply this technology to develop engineered soil from of these waste streams with the intent to add this material back into the environmental cycle.
We understand that under the direction of ABS and Rocky Mountain Power, testing of this plant developed by ABS will commence before the end of 2017 at 870 Gladiola, in Salt Lake City and run for a period of time as needed to complete the process certification. OED is working with DNR, SITLA, and other private sources so that ABS can move forward with procuring the necessary materials to complete their equipment testing and process validation. We also understand that once completed, this system will be dismantled and shipped to the end user outside of the State of Utah, per ABS’ customer agreement.
OED is monitoring the progress of this test and looks forward to continuing to support innovation through an all-of-the-above energy approach.
Active Energy Non-Executive Chairman, Michael Rowan, said, “We are delighted to receive this support from the Governor’s Office in Utah, which reaffirms the progress and potential for our CoalSwitch™ biomass fuel. The environmental credentials are being recognised across the board and we are extremely excited about the future, especially as we expect to deliver our first commercial quantities to partners, including Rocky Mountain Power, in the near future.”
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (“MAR”).
