Robert Laporte was invited to meet with Economic Development officers at the recent Economic Developers Council of Ontario 55th Annual Conference and Showcase in Toronto. Robert met several of Ontario’s Economic Development Directors, Officers and managers of the CFDC offices and was able to introduce the Neutopia business model and how it benefits communities.

Robert also had the opportunity to meet with Paul Blais and Brock Dickinson, Principals of Millier Dickinson Blais, who were sponsors of the event, as well as representatives from some of northern Ontario’s funding agencies. They seemed very keen on learning more about the pioneering community economic development initiatives that we are planning in North America and also to help establish alliances.

Robert discussed Neutopia’s current projects and how we can create a community enhancement plan based on our innovative Neutopia ecoPARK & Green Community Partnership Program™. We explained our estimates are such that for every month a community waits to join the program they are losing out on more than $100,000, a very strong motivator to join our program. Several of Ontario’s Economic Development managers were interested in receiving more information and learning how their communities can participate in our program, which is currently focused on establishing a Neutopia Green Community region along the highway 11 corridor.

Neutopia is a Vast Network of Solutions Providers!

Neutopia has established relationships with development partners and formed alliance with the industry leading technology providers who have already designed and built 100’s of renewable energy projects in North America and around the world. It’s important for us to only partner with leading engineering and construction firms who are top in their respective specialties, this ensures we are investing in well established cleantech companies with proven systems backed by performance guarantees.

Multiple companies throughout North America and around the world have been in highly confidential meetings with Neutopia to incorporate their technology at our sites. We have established relationships with the companies that passed our due diligence review, are bankable and which share our community benefit philosophy.

It should be noted that if any of our development partners, clients or a community has a preference for a particular technology over one that we recommend, we are not exclusive with any one technology provider and could easily integrate a technology of their choice.

Whether it’s for small residential projects or large utility scale projects for entire communities we have aligned ourselves with global leaders: Please click here for more details.

Our Portfolio includes:

• Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy
  • Solar
  • Wind
  • Biofuels
  • Geo-thermal
  • Biomass conversion
  • Wood Pellets / Briquets
  • Waste-to-Energy
  • Cogeneration
  • Clean Water
  • And more!

More importantly, with regards to our ecoPARK projects we have recruited the number one company in North America for materials recovery facilities and are able to complement that with various manufacturers for adding different components at the ecoPARK that may be required for specific feedstock streams.

No other company has designed and built more waste management / recycling / biogas production facilities than the team that Neutopia will be bringing.

We have also established direct relationships with dozens of manufacturers for the major components that would be integrated into these facilities including:

• Process equipment for MSW, ICI, C&D, Mining Waste, Hospital waste, Agri-waste, Hazardous Chemical Waste
• Sorting and separating technologies for glass, metals, plastics, organics
• Grinders, shredders, compactors and conveying systems
• Thermal conversion systems including biomass boilers, RDF conversion systems, pyrolysis, gasification, plasma, steam reformation, microwave systems etc.
• Landfill gas capture, clean-up and power generation
• Wastewater treatment, biosolids processing & conversion to clean energy
• Algae systems
• Greenhouses (food, fish, energy!)

Our projects will surely attract the interest from local farms and the general community for our ability to process their waste at the same site, including the recycling/repurposing of hazardous wastes if they are currently land-filling such materials and there’s a request for such a system in the community.

While such wastes are currently disposed of in manners that must meet certain government established standards and regulations, if there’s a residential neighbourhood near a landfill they usually do not want such materials buried close by as they have to live, eat and breathe in that local environment. We would be happy to provide recommendations and assist you with your needs.

We’ve identified a prime development site in Ontario; there is plenty of land space available for a Neutopia ecoPARK to be developed right at the landfill, simplifying the permitting and environmental requirements

Our plans will also include a variety of additional systems & technologies such as biochar production for use as a soil amendment, greenhouses for growing food, biofuels and nutraceuticals, waste heat recovery systems (technology that is currently being evaluated by Sustainable Development Technology Canada), small-scale wind turbines (depending on community desire) and a solar farm to complement the revenue per acre.

Neutopia ecoPARKS will be aesthetically pleasing & blend well with the local infrastructure as our technology partners have already built 100’s of such projects, like this one which houses a waste-to-energy system.

We remind communities that technology manufacturers are merely selling a product; Neutopia can use that technology to convert a community’s very own waste into programs to benefit the community. We want to be the number one choice for Green Community Partnerships and we believe our Social Benefit business model is a game-changer for the industry!

Neutopia presented a Special First Nations Empowerment Plan to develop a Neutopia Green Community Partnership program with First Nations in January.

The first plan of its kind, which brings together a network of scientists, project developers, engineering firms, technology providers and equipment manufacturers, was issued to Attawapiskat First Nation. The Attawapiskat First Nation community has been all over the news due to poor living conditions that has attracted international attention including a report from the United Nations condemning the Canadian government’s inability to help this community.

Our preliminary assessment is that the Canadian government has provided millions of dollars in funding to this community, although little if any professional assistance to offer community support and development. The news reports were shocking to Neutopia because we believe this community, like other remote First Nation communities, could be on their way to self-reliance today if they had the appropriate know-how and it could only take a few years!

Our plan could potentially help lift this community from its depressed economic state and poor community health by integrating a Neutopia Green Community ecoPARK program, with Neutopia’s revenues being re-invested in the community for sustainable development and long-term community action plans.

This is a prime example of how Neutopia’s innovative business model can help even our most remote communities, without requiring any investment from the community or banks or any federal or provincial involvement. This plan truly emphasizes the capability of the community to become self-reliant and how it can begin today.

We have not heard back from any officials from Attawapiskat, although we appreciate they have had a very difficult winter and we are very hopeful they will be interested in pursuing a project as soon as they are ready.

Neutopia presented a Special First Nations Empowerment Plan to develop a Neutopia Green Community Partnership program with First Nations in January.

The first plan, which brings together a network of scientists, project developers, engineering firms, technology providers and equipment manufacturers, was issued to Attawapiskat First Nation. The Attawapiskat First Nation community has been all over the news due to poor living conditions that has attracted international attention including a report from the United Nations condemning the Canadian government’s inability to help this community. Continue reading

Neutopia ecoSOLUTIONS Inc. has finalized the Green Church Initiative, which offers churches across North America a solution for creating new revenue streams. These new revenue streams, along with cost savings attributed to the integration of energy efficiency technologies and strategies, can be used to lower operating and maintenance costs of running the churches or to finance community aid projects.

Neutopia may be the first and only company in the world to offer such a program to churches. While there are a wide variety of consulting firms who all offer energy saving tips and recommendations, Neutopia’s program offers a full A to Z project development initiative and will result in massive investments into development projects that will improve community health in addition to financing and development of international aid projects. Continue reading

Significant Business Opportunity

Chris Jepson and Robert Laporte toured a local landfill in November, 2011. We were amazed to see that the town is losing out on over $10 million in lost renewable energy revenue PER YEAR!!

We have also uncovered a significant business opportunity to develop a Neutopia ecoPARK directly at the landfill. This is not the first project of its kind that we have uncovered; the opportunities are tremendous right across North America.

Community Organic Waste & Resource Recovery ecoPARKS

The first opportunity like this was identified for a food processing company near Toronto. The plans for that project can be merged with the new site; raising the estimated $4 Million Neutopia ecoCENTER to more than three times the original size. The plans will include an MSW processing system in addition to converting the waste into green energy and/or other value-added products. Continue reading

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