Gaia Energy, a European-based alternative energy firm, has registered the incorporation of a U.S. subsidiary with the State of Ohio and will locate its office in Wilmington. The company said it is actively pursuing opportunities in biomass and solar energies in Clinton County and neighboring areas.

Last week, Gaia Energy participated in Ohio’s first-ever corn cob harvesting trial together with Vermeer, an agricultural and construction equipment manufacturing company, using Vermeer’s cob harvesting equipment at Beam Farms near Sabina.

During Gaia Energy’s process of seeking feasible locations to develop biomass operations in the United States, they came across the Web site of Wilmington-based Energize Clinton County (ECC), highlighting what had happened to the community in terms of massive job losses. ECC is a non-profit organization committed to local economic development and from its start a year ago has had a focus on renewable energy projects as part of the solution to the local economic crisis.

Biomass is organic matter used as a fuel, especially in a power station for the generation of electricity. Gaia Energy is looking to develop the biomass sector of the energy industry in the U.S. market, and the company is exploring different opportunities to make it feasible. Erico Matias Tavares, a director at Gaia Energy, said the company’s founders have long-standing experience in the wider bioenergy sector, particularly in Europe which today leads the industry globally.

Regarding the announcement Gaia Energy has set up its U.S. business registration in Wilmington, Tavares said, “We are absolutely delighted to be here and very much look forward to working with our local partners in implementing various opportunities that will not only boost the county’s green energy credentials but also support the local economy.”

According to Chris Schock, executive director of the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission, corn cobs offer significant benefits for the development of the bioenergy industry in Ohio, including “substantial availability, low soil-nutrient removal rates and a compelling energy content.”

Officials stopped by the Beam Farms on Stone Road to see the cob harvesting in action, including Mark Shanahan, the executive director of the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, and Chris Meyer, director of renewable energy for the Dayton Development Coalition.

Southwest Landmark is supporting the project by providing storage space for the collected cobs, which will be processed and used to generate energy at a regional power station, Schock said.

In July, Tavares told Clinton County commissioners, “Ohio is blessed with highly productive fields and plentiful amounts of biomass, but it also has access to ample quantities of cheap coal, which effectively puts a cap on biomass margins.”

Schock said area farms produce significant annual corn yields to go along with the geographic advantage of being close to power plants.

“I do believe this (biomass) is perhaps more sustainable and long-term than ethanol — biomass is less resource intensive and more pragmatic,” Schock said.

ECC co-founders Mark Rembert and Taylor Stuckert — who last week were invited presenters at the Pop!Tech Conference in Camden, Maine — proudly noted that the first-ever corn cob harvesting trial for Clinton County was going on as they spoke.

Schock said, “While this (biomass trial project) is just a first stage, it is an important first step. We hope Clinton County will be viewed as a progressive place to have alternate energy discussions and to hold related projects.”

He added, “We are excited to welcome Gaia Energy to Wilmington and explore this biomass opportunity. Thank you to Vermeer for its assistance and to the Beam family for their great vision.”

For more information on Gaia Energy, visit its Web site www.gaiaenergy.eu.