Nordic Aquafarms announced that it has hired the first executive for its Humboldt County, California, U.S.A.-based salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility.
The company announced the plans for the facility in California in February 2019. The facility represents a potential USD 400 million (EUR 358 million) investment, which comes on top of the USD 500 million (EUR 447 million) investment the company plans to make in its Belfast, Maine facility.
The new hire, Shawn A. Harriman, will take the role of senior vice president of projects at Nordic Aquafarms California, the West Coast subsidiary of the company. Harriman has 30 years of experience managing large construction projects across the U.S. and Canada, and recently moved to the area where the RAS project is taking place.
According to Nordic Aquafarms President Erik Heim, Harriman will be the first executive on the ground in the area and will be “crucial” for the company’s success in the region.
In addition to the first hire for the California project, the company also announced that it has signed contracts with national and local vendors for permitting and engineering on the project.
“After working in partnership with the Humboldt community in 2019, Nordic Aquafarms Inc. is rapidly increasing investments in permitting, engineering, and commercial efforts for its announced RAS farm,” a company press release said.
Due diligence from the company, the release added, has shown the chosen location has reliable access to the water resources the facility would need, has favorable electricity costs, and several other strengths.
Meanwhile, the company’s Maine-based project is approaching the last planning board hearing for the project in the town of Belfast, according to Mainebiz. The company amended its initial application in ways that trigger additional public hearings, including the addition of eight smokestacks that are 65 feet high.
So far, the company has undergone 11 public meetings on the application since the city received it.
Photo courtesy of Nordic Aquaculture
