The suitability of any given site for construction of a biofuels facility is determined primarily by physical limitations, access, financial implications,  market demands, and public concerns.  Assisting clients to evaluate these issues and assess their implications before too much time, effort, and funds are invested into the site is critical to the success of a project.  

A site can literally be too small, the soil may not support heavy structures, or there may be either not enough water or too much water for the proposed plant.  The owners/providers of infrastructure and utilities may choose or are unable to provide the services or degree of services required by the plant to run at the desired capacity.   Often the aforementioned issues are not without solutions, but the cost of those solutions make the project financially unattractive to investors and financiers.  Finally, there is public concern that surrounds perceived impacts on quality of life for those living near an ethanol plant.  Concerns such as; too much traffic, odor, changes in water availability, water pollution, and noise have all slowed or prohibited the construction of an ethanol plant. 

Preliminary studies and evaluations, such as feasibility studies, are designed to identify major issues that may be problematic at a given location(s).  However, it takes a more in-depth  look and systematic approach to determine if any one issue or combination of issues are severe enough to prevent construction on a given site,  cause significant time delays and/or result in significant monetary expense ("Fatal Flaws").   In this presentation we will discuss our approach and experience in completing these site evaluations nationwide at proposed greenfield or brownfield sites.