Introduction to Neutopia’s Green Community ecoPARK Initiative
Introduction to Neutopia’s Green Community ecoPARK Initiative to Support the Ring of Fire with Northern Ontario Communities Along the Highway 11 Corridor and Potential Benefits to Aboriginal Communities
December 5, 2011
The Anatomy of a Revolution in the Industrial-Community Relationship
Welcome to Neutopia’s Global ecoPARK Initiative…
Introduction to the Phenomenon
November 22, 2011
Neutopia was invited as a Special Guest lecturer to present our innovative business model and international projects for a class of International Business at the Monieson Center.
The Emerging Bio-economy & Community ecoPARKS; a Vision of Neutopia!
Greenstone Ontario: Geraldton: March 21, 2011
Greenstone Ontario: Longlac March 22, 2011
Special guests included:
- Mark Bell, Economic Development Officer for Aroland First Nations
- Natalie Hughes, of the Northern Ontario Bio-economy Corp
Northern Ontario Bio-economy Conference
Victoria Inn Ballroom, Thunder Bay, March 26, 2011
Guest speakers included:
- The Honourable Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry
- Bruce Hyer, NDP Member of Parliament, Thunder Bay – Superior North
- Ed Fukushima/Larry Levchak, Atikokan Renewable Fuels
- Trevor Laing, Level Plains in Wawa, Ontario
- Dr. David Robinson, Professor, Faculty of Economics at Laurentian University
- Robert Laporte, President and CEO of NEUTOPIA ecoSOLUTIONS
- Al Cresswell, Morning Host and News Director of CFNO FM broadcasting (Master of Ceremonies)
Social Leadership in Research and Business
Monieson Ideas Seminar, April 27, 2011
Queen’s School of Business
Kingston, Ontario
Online Presentation about Neutopia: Download Here.
Last week Neutopia signed a Joint Venture Agreement to develop a 6.9MW wind farm, along highway 11 in the district of Thunder Bay, northern Ontario, Canada.
The estimated $35 million project will consist of three 2.3MW wind turbines, but may scale up to more as the pre-feasibility studies are completed. Neutopia attracted the project opportunity and acquired the project development rights following a Neutopia Public Awareness Seminar to educate the community on the benefits of recruiting Neutopia as a Green Energy partner. The landowner was on-site to witness the innovative business model we are promoting and saw the benefits of partnering with Neutopia for such a project.
The development site is situated on a 157 acre parcel, so the project could scale up to a much larger ecoPARK project if future grid capacity is increased via the anticipated new 230kV line extending from the proposed Little Jackfish hydro project which would run right by our proposed development site.
Neutopia will be submitting a grant application to pursue the wind study and associated environmental studies. A major attraction for us is that the wind turbines would not be located in proximity to any community, reducing the potential of NIMBYISM (not in my backyard-ism) as we are witnessing for many proposed wind farms across the province that are not community-owned.
On the contrary, we are hoping this project will attract community interest since Neutopia’s Social Benefit business model would be investing our revenues in community enhancement projects.
We are anticipating the project will be similar to other wind turbine projects above forested areas such as this picture from a project in Bavaria, where modern wind turbines with hub heights of more than 100 metres are opening up the potential of forest sites by reaching low-turbulence layers of air high above the tops of trees.
Image souce: TÜV SÜD Industrie Service
Neutopia Presentation to Mayor & Council Reveals Innovative Plans
Neutopia presented a 188 page report to the Mayor and Honourable members of Council on December 5, 2011 at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole. Robert Laporte and Chris Jepson traveled to Northern Ontario to present the eagerly anticipated document.
The report explains the efforts that were undertaken since December 2010, how Neutopia attracted Cliffs Natural Resources to the community, what transpired when Neutopia met with Cliffs representatives, as well as the Project Development Protocol that was initiated to begin planning the $450 million ecoPARK in Northern Ontario and the ecoCENTER network to support the Ring of Fire mining activities. We also presented a slideshow revealing substantial benefits to the residents and area aboriginal communities who could be benefiting from these opportunities if they are pursued, we are very hopeful we can stimulate interest.
Neutopia is now waiting to hear if Cliffs will be pursuing their plans in the region, and if so what opportunities the local communities may be interested in pursuing with Neutopia. All area Aboriginal community leaders were invited to meet with Robert Laporte during the community assessment phase and we had the opportunity to present our ideas to one of the local First Nation councils.
We are very hopeful we can generate interest in the opportunities we have presented, which we believe are the greatest economic and community development opportunities for the region in decades. In fact, we believe it is the greatest opportunity in Canadian history and this type of initiative could empower Aboriginal community’s with energy independence and a multitude of associated benefits.
The most shocking news we heard while in the region is that many leaders are still pushing for an extension of power lines through the landscape, when we are now living in an age of decentralized energy and community power…why would anyone want to buy electricity from another source when they could be making their own? This old-school thinking is a great tragedy across our country because it forces reliance on others and takes the power away from the community.
Since the Ring of Fire mining activities may be picking up steam in the near future, we strongly urge all community groups and community leaders to hear about Neutopia’s innovative solutions because they ensure revenues are re-invested in the communities and surrounding region.
Our fear is that if they don’t plan ahead they will lose these economic opportunities to other groups with other interests, because that is how our continent was developed and our new community leaders should be thinking outside of the box and assessing alternative solutions for the betterment of the communities they are representing.
Neutopia’s innovative business model represents a new era in Corporate Social Responsibility plans by merging industrial development with community and environmental initiatives.
Source: http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com
Cliffs controls three large chromite deposits in Northern Ontario, Canada. With a timeline to begin production in 2015 from its wholly owned Black Thor deposit, Cliffs is currently in the prefeasibility study phase of the project. As part of prefeasibility, the Company continues to evaluate many factors, scenarios and strategic alternatives that may ultimately impact future investment and timing of the project.
At the time of Cliffs’ initial investment in chromite assets in 2009, the Company predicated preliminary comments for capital requirements on a baseline expectation of a project annually producing approximately 600,000 tons of ferrochrome. Subsequently, and after significant additional prefeasibility work, Cliffs now anticipates an expanded project annually producing 1 million tons of export chromite ore concentrate in addition to the original 600,000 tons of ferrochrome.
Preliminary capital estimates for the project, based on prefeasibility work completed to date, include the following major engineering components:
- Mine development — Approximately $150 million
- Near-mine Concentrating Plant — Approximately $800 million
- Ferrochrome Processing Facility — Approximately $1.8 billion
About Cliffs Natural Resources
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is an international mining and natural resources company. A member of the S&P 500 Index, the Company is a major global iron ore producer and a significant producer of high- and low-volatile metallurgical coal. Cliffs’ strategy is to continually achieve greater scale and diversification in the mining industry through a focus on serving the world’s largest and fastest growing steel markets. Driven by the core values of social, environmental and capital stewardship, Cliffs associates across the globe endeavor to provide all stakeholders operating and financial transparency.
The Company is organized through a global commercial group responsible for sales and delivery of Cliffs products and a global operations group responsible for the production of the minerals the Company markets. Cliffs operates iron ore and coal mines in North America and two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia. The Company also has a 45% economic interest in a coking and thermal coal mine in Queensland, Australia. In addition, Cliffs has a major chromite project, in the pre-feasibility stage of development, located in Ontario, Canada.
News releases and other information on the Company are available on the Internet at: http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com
Neutopia ecoSOLUTIONS Inc. has signed a Joint Venture to expand the Neutopia Global ecoPARK Initiative into Latin America. We have already contacted the Canadian Embassies in both Quito and Guyaquil regarding the Neutopia-Ecuadorian CONSORCIO Agreement with our Project Development partners in Ecuador.
Neutopia creates JV with partners in Ecuador for our first ecoPARK south of the border. The project consists of an agricultural waste to energy project with on-site solar farm. Left to right: Diego, José, Pablo, Pedro.
A professor was in attendance at the Monieson presentation in April 2011 and was so intrigued with Neutopia’s Social Benefit business model and our international projects that he invited us to be a guest lecturer to introduce his students to the unique business. The professor, a D.R. Sobey Professor of International Business at Queen’s and his students are focused on international business development.
Neutopia’s presentation was an awe-inspiring slideshow revealing the core of Neutopia; from the early beginnings in a one bedroom basement apartment to more than $250 million in projects currently being negotiated with the Neutopia Investment Network (not including our $450 million ecoPARK proposal presented in Northern Ontario).
The students had a rare opportunity to get a glimpse into Neutopia’s innovative business development protocol and saw pictures of our Neutopia teams in Ecuador and West Africa, and we discussed the potential for projects in Brazil and Southeast Asia. If your school is interested in hearing about Neutopia’s initiatives please contact us to discuss guest lecture opportunities.
Strategic Partnership; Neutopia has signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding with investors and manufacturers based in the GTA. Neutopia is preparing to make a global impact in the solar industry.
Neutopia ecoSOLUTIONS Inc. Signs MOU with Investors for Solar Projects.
The solar industry is filled with companies who are all competing for the same projects, with developers who are taking advantage of landowners and investors who are not thinking outside of the box.
This is not the way the industry should be moving forward and Neutopia realized this from day one. The strategy that Neutopia employs is to get their feet on the ground and create their own projects rather than bid on public projects, and to have direct relationships for the entire value chain rather than purchase through costly distribution channels or other middle-men. This drastically lowers the cost of developing a project resulting in greater return on investment and IRR’s for our clients, our private investors, and our own investment team. Continue reading
Robert Laporte with the Honourable Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development
One exciting factor to consider is that the ecoPARKS would also offer the wood mills in the area a new revenue stream that would also satisfy financing for re-start up since the ecoPARK could become their biggest partners. This is something that has excited our financial network and our partner companies. The whole concept of an integrated ecoPARK is new to most people who aren’t involved in the energy sector or simply focused on one technology.
Basically, if a biomass processing plant was built on its own it would be difficult to be economical. If it’s built adjacent a wood mill then it’s more economical. Neutopia spent years researching various technologies from around the world and has created an integrated ecoPARK business model composed of an extensive network of technologies. We design each ecoPARK based on the resources that are available in each area and by integrating these technologies we create something of an industrial symbiosis which enables us to manufacture a wider range of products at the same site which results in significantly greater revenue per given area of land.
It is our belief that every community should have an ecoPARK tailored to meet the needs of the community and local industries. At the very least it will be a site to generate clean energy and/or bio-based products from under-utilized local resources.
This would be done in a sustainable manner, ensuring long term employment and an attractive investment opportunity for the community as they will reap significant long-term rewards on the minor costs associated with recruiting Neutopia to the region.
Robert W. Laporte, CEO Neutopia
The Monieson Centre, in conjunction with Queen’s Office of the Vice Principal (Research) and the Office of Research Services, will be bringing together academics, business leaders and members of the community for mutual benefit and to promote innovation. Neutopia has been invited to be a panelist in the “Social Leadership in Research and Business” theme, which will focus on how social leadership can play a significant role in personal and community development. This seminar looks at innovative practices and technologies that can enhance the social and economic fabric of communities.
Neutopia has created a revolutionary Social Profit business model that harnesses underutilized resources in a community and converts them into community aid, benefiting the social and economic infrastructure while creating clean energy and long-term synergistic business opportunities throughout the neighbouring regions.
The Monieson Centre, Queen’s School of Business brings leading academic research to business, government, and community audiences to create value through knowledge. The Centre focuses on research related to the knowledge economy – how to harness the expertise of individuals, organizations and communities to create knowledge capital. Neutopia will be explaining the significance of an innovative Social Profit business model in streamlining renewable energy development projects to stimulate economic and social development.
Panelists:
Dr. Tina Dacin, Queen’s School of Business
Dr. Tim Bryant, Dept Mech/Matl Eng, Queen’s University
Dr. Malcolm Peat, International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation
Mr. Robert Laporte, President and CEO, Neutopia ecoSolutions Inc.
Presentation Slides:
http://business.queensu.ca/centres/monieson/events/Presentations/Aprl%20Social%20leadership/LAPORTE.pdf
Neutopia Robert Laporte Biographical Info:
http://business.queensu.ca/centres/monieson/events/Monieson%20Idea%20bios/Apr%20-%20Social%20Leadership/LAPORTE.pdf
Neutopia ecoSOLUTIONS Inc., the world’s first Social Benefit Green Energy Company, has been recruited by the Municipality of Greenstone, Ontario. Neutopia’s role is to co-author a business attraction report with Greenstone’s Economic Development Office to present to Cliffs Natural Resources, a billion dollar mining company seeking a development site to build a ferrochrome processing facility for a chromite project in the James Bay Lowlands of northern Ontario.
Greenstone, one of the largest municipalities in Ontario, is known as the ‘Gateway to the Ring of Fire’ as it is situated south of the mining site and the ore and mining materials will be shipped right through Greenstone to reach world markets. Several cities are currently being investigated by Cliffs to locate their processing facility, with electricity availability being one of the key factors. Neutopia was asked if we could scale up our proposed ecoPARK to accommodate the energy needs of Cliffs and we immediately made this project our highest priority.
The report highlighted the potential benefits to the mining company if they would build their facility near a Neutopia ecoPARK. The report was presented to Cliffs on January 5, 2011, and resulted in a request by Cliffs to meet with Neutopia ASAP in Greenstone, successfully putting Greenstone on Cliff’s short list of potential development sites.
