ZooShare reaches $2.2 million for biogas project at Toronto Zoo
By Katie Fletcher, Biomass Magazine.
ZooShare Biogas Cooperative Inc. recently announced that it reached another milestone on its journey to implement a biogas plant at the Toronto Zoo by raising $2.2 million in community bonds, just before its goal to close bond sales on March 31. Around 300 people invested in the proposed 500-kW biogas plant, which will generate power for the Ontario grid from 3,000 tons of zoo poo and 14,000 tons of local grocery waste from a large Canadian grocery chain.
This milestone signifies the target has been reached in community bond funding, but the company is now seeking approximately $2.6 million in construction financing and $1.2 million in long-term debt, including interest during construction, reserve accounts—principal and interest, unscheduled maintenance—and working capital. In total, the capital required at the project’s commercial operation date is $6 million.