Plans for Eco-Industrial Park

Silver Bay goes green with plans for eco-industrial park

An eco-industrial business park planned for Silver Bay could put the city on the map as a beacon of green industry.

August 21, 2011 - An eco-industrial business park planned for Silver Bay could put the city on the map as a beacon of green industry.

The small town of just under 2,000 is thinking big. Plans for the eco-industrial park off State Highway 61 on the waterfront just north of County Highway 5 include a biomass heat and power facility, a greenhouse that could grow food for distribution within the city, and a fish farm that would make use of fish waste to grow algae for biodiesel fuel.

The AmericInn hotel would be part of the group of businesses forming a self-sustaining cluster.

The city also would promote the model and offer tours.

“Silver Bay has really taken the bull by the horns and developed what began as an idea into a very significant eco-park,” said Tim Nolan, a principal sustainable industrial development planner with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “They are on the cutting edge, which is very interesting for a small town.” Nolan has been a contributor to the project, helping the city as it homes in what they want to do with the project.

The city, known mainly as the place built by Reserve Mining in the 1950s and home to Northshore Mining today, is like any other small town that wants to create jobs and diversify the employment base. But it also wants that growth to be good for the environment. read more>>>