PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Berkshire Biodiesel will utilize the former Beloit
R&D manufacturing
site off Hubbard Avenue in Pittsfield under a highly
disciplined development effort.
The site, which is now owned by Crane & Co., straddles both the City of Pittsfield and the Town of Dalton. While it is only marginally used at present, it offers a number of advantages for producing biodiesel:
Building
The
building contains offices and testing laboratories
in addition to substantial manufacturing space and excellent truck access.
Rail Access
Historically, the site offered access to the CSX Transportation system. Berkshire Biodiesel is renewing and greatly expanding the system, which will benefit the region’s economy in addition to meeting the facility's rail needs.
Regional Expertise
Berkshire Biodiesel has secured the services of exceptional people and entities in such areas as engineering and design, environmental assessment and permitting, construction management and legal.
Approach
Berkshire Biodiesel has initiated its development plan utilizing this
expertise with an eye to reducing the plant's overall capital costs in
order to maintain cost competitiveness. The core of this effort is the
component-based engineering and design approach around a proven technology
and the Construction Management-At-Risk (CM) with a Guaranteed Maximum
Price (GMP) strategy. This eliminates substantial upfront engineering costs
and lag time associated with EPC/Turnkey construction approaches. Berkshire
Biodiesel believes its capital costs are 30% to 50% lower while still maintaining
exceptionally strong support from the key contributors to the construction
and commissioning of the plant.
© 2007 Berkshire Biodiesel, A NorthWinds Company.