Lithonia weighs plan for proposed green energy plant on Highway 124

http://www.ocgnews.com/index.php/archives/19-lithonia-weighs-plan-for-proposed-green-energy-plant-on-highway-124-

Written by Valerie J. Morgan

Lithonia could become a demonstration model for green energy with a proposal to build a $60 million plant that would convert wood chips into electricity. A minority-owned company called Green Energy Partners, Inc. is working with AECOM, the largest design-build firm in the world, to explore building the plant on Highway 124 on a 26-acre tract. AECOM, a Fortune 500 company with clients in more than 100 countries, would oversee the design of the 50,000-square-foot enclosed plant. The two companies want to use a gasification process to make electricity, which would be sold to Georgia Power and power about 7,000 homes. The DeKalb County Sanitation Department would supply the plant with about 100,000 tons of wood chips collected annually from residential yard waste to make the electricity. Georgia Power also would provide wood chips for the energy conversion. Neville Anderson, the minority partner of the proposed project, likens the gasification process to heating up wood chips in a barbecue grill or fireplace then converting the heat into electricity. “This is not medical waste. It’s not garbage. It’s not tires,” said Anderson, managing director for Green Energy Partners, Inc.. “We’re talking about strictly using woody biomass—good waste—to create energy.” Anderson said the plant, which would be built with a federally-back loan, would be an educational model for engineers, students and others locally and from around the country. The plant would also serve as a catalyst to spur economic development in the city of Lithonia, attracting other companies and building a larger tax base for the city. “What we’re talking about is putting Lithonia on the map for green energy. The city would be bringing in technology that the nation is embracing,” Anderson said. The plant, he said, would create about 100 jobs during construction, which is expected to take about eight months—from April to November—if the city gives the go-ahead. About 25 of those jobs would be permanent positions–from security guards to technicians who earn between $45,000 and $60,000 a year. Anderson said the plant would create about 1,000 jobs in the region ranging from truck drivers to suppliers for various goods. Even with the benefits that Anderson is touting, however, the proposed project has some concerned the plant would pose a health hazard. They fear the 24-hour operation would bring harmful emissions, noise and unwanted truck traffic to the community. City Council member Deborah Jackson said she feels more information and research are needed before a decision can be made about the plant. “I’m concerned that we just don’t know enough about it. Gasification has only been used since 2008,” Jackson said. “We don’t know what the impact will be 20 years from now.” But Anderson said one need only look at the University of South Carolina, if there are concerns about health hazards associated with gasification. He said the university has been using the process on site for about four years to power facilities on its campus. Six Lithonia citizens, including long-time resident Barbara Lester, a former City Council member, plan to present a report to residents on Nov. 17, 7 p.m., a the Lithonia Woman’s Club on Wiggins Street. The residents, along with Council members Doreen Carter, Al Franklin, Deborah Jackson and Lithonia Mayor Tonya Peterson joined Anderson and others on a bus tour of a gasification plant they visited Nov. 1 in Dalton. They observed how Shaw Industries uses carpet remnants to make energy and they plan to share their findings from the trip, Lester said. Carter, who organized the trip, said she, too, is planning a community forum that will feature a panel of green energy experts and elected officials. That meeting will be held on Nov 29, 7 p.m., at Union Missionary Baptist Church, 2474 Bruce St., Lithonia. Pictured above: 1st Picture: Lithonia residents and other community stakeholders toured the Shaw Industries plant in Dalton, where carpet remnants are used to make renewable energy. Photo By Valerie J. Morgan/OCG News 2nd Picture: Neville Anderson, Managing Director for Green Energy Partners.