BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 5, 2025
The town of Bucksport is taking steps to attract a new biofuel plant, starting with seeking a grant to assess how well it and the surrounding region could support such a facility. Biofuels are processed from organic materials, or biomass, such as wood byproducts from the paper or timber industry. Some biomass electricity operations have faltered in Maine. The industry got a $13 million bailout in 2016, but one plant owner ran them only intermittently and filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Two biomass electricity plants in Aroostook County shut down in 2018 and 2019, citing market conditions. But new plant proposals focusing on biofuels have come to other towns recently, including Lincoln, Limestone, Millinocket and East Millinocket.