$140 million power plant to be built near Thomson
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By Abbie Reese | Wednesday, September 19, 2007 |
THOMSON, Ill. — Jo-Carroll Energy announced Tuesday that it will build a $140 million renewable bio-mass power plant on 60 acres of land between Thomson and Savanna.
Construction is slated to begin in 2009, with the 80-megawatt plant opening in 2012.
President and CEO Michael Hastings said the member-owned, not-for-profit electrical cooperative hopes to secure state, federal and private grants to help fund the plant, which would be the first of its kind in Illinois.
The project developed after Jo-Carroll Energy acquired additional service territory in Jo Daviess, Whiteside and Carroll counties from Alliant Energy in February and sought a way to provide reliable service at low rates for its 12,000 additional electrical and 5,500 additional natural gas accounts.
Hastings said the plant will help “secure a portion of power supply needs going forward for several decades.”
The company began considering power-supply options a year ago for the new service area, from buying power wholesale to buying into a power plant or building a power plant.
“The 500-pound gorilla in the room is where the price of power is going,” Hastings said. “This is very much a nationwide issue.”
Ed Smith, owner of Smith Consulting and Jo-Carroll Energy’s consultant on the project, said Jo-Carroll Energy decided to build the bio-mass plant after weighing the cost-benefit ratio of building a plant or buying from another power source.
“It’s going to be cheaper for them to produce power than to buy it and that’s the benchmark — you build or you buy,” Smith said after the news conference.
The bio-mass plant, fueled by clean waste wood, corn stover and switchgrass, will be duplicated after a plant in Virginia that’s been more than 90 percent reliable since it opened 10 years ago, Smith said.
Clean wood will be shipped by rail cars from Chicago, and farmers from a four-county radius will provide up to 20 percent of corn stover to fuel the operation, Hastings said.
Freeport Mayor George Gaulrapp asked at the news conference whether the wood would otherwise be sent to landfills. Smith said the plant would make use of clean wood that would otherwise be discarded in landfills.
Smith said he’d been asked if the plant will smell like a wood-burning stove, but he said only a light pine scent will emanate from the pile of wood waiting to be burned, like a natural air freshener.
Lynne Kilker, interim director for the Carroll County Economic Development Corp., worked behind-the-scenes on the project.
“This is an awfully big step for Carroll County,” Kilker said. “I’m just very proud of Jo-Carroll for doing this. Carroll County prides itself on being a county that is very ag-oriented. And when you look at the zoning map … it’s basically colored green. And green is ag. This is a wonderful boost for the whole ag production in this county.”
Hastings said Jo-Carroll Energy has been in talks with other utilities that may partner on the bio-mass plant.
Kilker said if another renewable energy project, Carroll County Ethanol, comes to fruition, she hopes it would be built next door to Jo-Carroll Energy’s bio-mass plant just south of the Danisco plant. Jo-Carroll’s plant will provide steam to Danisco’s manufacturing facility. Craig Myers, Danisco plant manager, anticipates the bio-mass plant will reduce Danisco’s operating expenses.
During the construction phase, more than 250 workers will be employed, and when the renewable energy plant opens, Smith said 30 people will be employed, with a median salary of $70,000.
Hastings said he plans to approach officials in Thomson, seeking whether the 60 acres of land north of Thomson can can be annexed into village limits.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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