This 2013 file photo shows the biomass mill Eagle Valley Clean Energy in Gypsum. (Bill Heicher/The Denver Post)
Eleven years after opening, a biomass plant in the Eagle County town of Gypsum has shut down and filed for bankruptcy as it faces a $40 million mound of debt.
The Eagle Valley Clean Energy plant opened in 2013, over the objections of some residents and Gypsum town leaders. The plant burned dead lumber that had been killed by beetles to help power the grid of Holy Cross Energy, an electricity co-op with 45,000 members.
Problems have plagued the plant since 2014, when a major fire forced it to shut down for 11 months. The plant’s owner and the company that built it then sued and countersued each other for years. A federal jury sided with the builder and awarded it $10.8 million in 2017.
Firefighters work to contain an early morning blaze at the Gypsum, Colo., biomass power plant on Dec. 13, 2014. (Denver Post file photo)
In 2019, plant owner Eagle Valley Clean Energy agreed to pay $2.6 million to the federal government after it was accused of defrauding a green energy program. That same year, the plant was sold to Greenbacker Capital, the New York firm that owns it today.
On April 16, Greenbacker told plant workers and the Town of Gypsum “that it is no longer financially viable for us to continue operations,” Vail Daily reported. The next day, the plant filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning it will liquidate its assets and shut down.
The plant owes $35 million to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which loaned $40 million for its construction in 2013, according to past media reports. It also owes $60,000 in federal taxes, $48,000 in county taxes and $1.3 million to vendors, contractors and suppliers.
Most concerning for the plant’s future, Greenbacker lists its value at just $3.5 million, a dozen years after it was built at a cost of $56 million. The plant generated $10.6 million in revenue in 2022 and $9 million in 2023 but only $1.3 million in the first 100 days of 2024.
Spokespeople for Greenbacker did not respond to requests to discuss the biomass plant and its future. The Town of Gypsum declined to discuss it.
“It was providing between two and three megawatts for us, or about 4 percent of our power, so we’re actually just fine,” Holy Cross Energy Vice President Jenna Weatherred said of the closure. “We’ve got a great contract with (other companies) to come in and backfill for us.”
“I was sad to see it go, it was an employer for several people, but they’ve been struggling to make it work for awhile. So, we weren’t completely surprised.”
Greenbacker’s bankruptcy attorney is Michael Schuster in the Denver office of Polsinelli.
This 2013 file photo shows the biomass mill Eagle Valley Clean Energy in Gypsum. (Bill Heicher/The Denver Post)
Eleven years after opening, a biomass plant in the Eagle County town of Gypsum has shut down and filed for bankruptcy as it faces a $40 million mound of debt.
The Eagle Valley Clean Energy plant opened in 2013, over the objections of some residents and Gypsum town leaders. The plant burned dead lumber that had been killed by beetles to help power the grid of Holy Cross Energy, an electricity co-op with 45,000 members.
Problems have plagued the plant since 2014, when a major fire forced it to shut down for 11 months. The plant’s owner and the company that built it then sued and countersued each other for years. A federal jury sided with the builder and awarded it $10.8 million in 2017.
Firefighters work to contain an early morning blaze at the Gypsum, Colo., biomass power plant on Dec. 13, 2014. (Denver Post file photo)
In 2019, plant owner Eagle Valley Clean Energy agreed to pay $2.6 million to the federal government after it was accused of defrauding a green energy program. That same year, the plant was sold to Greenbacker Capital, the New York firm that owns it today.
On April 16, Greenbacker told plant workers and the Town of Gypsum “that it is no longer financially viable for us to continue operations,” Vail Daily reported. The next day, the plant filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning it will liquidate its assets and shut down.
The plant owes $35 million to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which loaned $40 million for its construction in 2013, according to past media reports. It also owes $60,000 in federal taxes, $48,000 in county taxes and $1.3 million to vendors, contractors and suppliers.
Most concerning for the plant’s future, Greenbacker lists its value at just $3.5 million, a dozen years after it was built at a cost of $56 million. The plant generated $10.6 million in revenue in 2022 and $9 million in 2023 but only $1.3 million in the first 100 days of 2024.
Spokespeople for Greenbacker did not respond to requests to discuss the biomass plant and its future. The Town of Gypsum declined to discuss it.
“It was providing between two and three megawatts for us, or about 4 percent of our power, so we’re actually just fine,” Holy Cross Energy Vice President Jenna Weatherred said of the closure. “We’ve got a great contract with (other companies) to come in and backfill for us.”
“I was sad to see it go, it was an employer for several people, but they’ve been struggling to make it work for awhile. So, we weren’t completely surprised.”
Greenbacker’s bankruptcy attorney is Michael Schuster in the Denver office of Polsinelli.
