Mark Lyons
Photo: Lee Burnett
By Lee Burnett
The company proposing to build a $180 million biosolids gasification plant in Sanford said it has restructured the debt that plagued its prototype plant in Linden, NJ, which shut down in December with no timetable for reopening.
According to documents on file with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, Aries Clean Technology stopped making debt payments in July and laid off its employees in December. As of the end of 2024, the company needed “$90 million of additional capital expenditures to reach
near designed sustained production levels,” according to an auditor’s report.
The report noted the company was conducting necessary fundraising, but also noted “there can be no assurances that the Company will receive the necessary capital investments, or whether the Project will attain profitable levels of operation … Accordingly, substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
The plant’s advertised benefit is in reducing the accumulation of PFAS forever chemicals in landfills that are already constrained for space. The Sanford plant would take in biosolids primarily from sewer districts in Maine, but also New Hampshire and eastern Massachusetts, partially dry it, then cook it in an oxygen-starved environment to create a biochar product useful to the concrete industry, according to Aries. At a press conference on Wednesday, local officials touted the city’s leadership in addressing a regional environmental problem, the expanded tax base, and the jobs – 100 construction and 30 full-time jobs, with a median wage of $70,000.
At the press conference at Goodall Memorial Library, a company representative acknowledged the company’s financial challenges and said they have recently been resolved through restructuring debt with new partners.
“That’s been resolved,” explained Mark Lyons, senior director of business development for Aries. “There’s no longer any issues with the debt.”
He said the financial problems stemmed from a malfunctioning front-end piece of equipment, not with the proprietary gasifier at the heart of the business, which operated “flawlessly.” The timetable for replacement of a dryer is not known, he said. “It could be later this year, we just don’t know yet.” The “lessons learned” have been incorporated into the design of the Sanford plant, he noted.
“Those issues that we had in Linden will not occur in Sanford,” he said.
In an interview after the press conference, Lyons said Aries acquired all the outstanding bonds from Union County Improvement Authority of Elizabeth, NJ, and has found additional credit from Spring Lane Capital private equity, based in Boston and Montreal, and from Thompson Machinery of Tennessee.
“We’re in financially good shape,” said Lyons. “It happened on Monday, we just signed the documents. It’s not public yet.”
The press conference was the beginning of the company’s public relations campaign, which also included an open house Wednesday evening. Attending the press conference were Mayor Becky Brink, Deputy Mayor Maura Herlihy, City Manager Steve Buck, Economic Development Director Keith McBride and Superintendent of the Sanford Sewerage District Andre Broussard. Also attending was a handful of interested residents who had learned about the press conference at the last minute. When they tried to ask questions, they were told to attend the open house in the evening.
Afterward, Christine Verespe of Springvale and Kelby Tracy of Sanford shared their concerns with the Sanford Springvale News. They said they are most worried about air and water quality but they are also concerned about the company’s track record.
“If that plant is not operating, why would we want that here?” asked Verespe. “Would they be willing to have a referendum? Would they be willing to put a moratorium in place until we figure out what’s going on with the Linden plant and if it’s going to work? Why Sanford?”
Added Kelby Tracy of Sanford: “If you can’t get that plant running and you’ve laid off all the people that were working there and left them high and dry… So, how is that positive economic growth for them when the facility shuts down? Who has to pay for that debt?”
At the open house in the evening, the room was packed, shoulder to shoulder, with dozens of conversations going on at once. Resident Brion Gallagher stood at the doorway, surveying the scene, wondering who to ask questions of.
“I haven’t gotten farther than this, and this is my second attempt,” he said.
The room was set up with a series of stations around the perimeter, each with its own company representative and display board.
“I’ve never seen so many people in this place,” observed former library board chair Al Pollard.
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