DeKalb approves renewable energy plant

http://www.ocgnews.com/index.php/local-news/521-dekalb-approves-renewable-energy-plant-

Written by Valerie J. Morgan

In a tense showdown, DeKalb County commissioners unanimously approved Green Energy Partners’ application to build a $60 million biomass gasification plant just outside of the city of Lithonia.     . Neville A. Anderson, managing director of Green Energy Partners (center), and supporters listen intently to the debate concerning the planned project. The approval came after protestors battled  the project for months, saying they believed  the plant would be harmful to residents’  health, exposing them to carcinogenic emissions. They packed the board’s meeting to show  their opposition. So did proponents who said the biomass green energy plant represents the future —and jobs in DeKalb. They turned out in  large numbers dressed in green T-shirts to show their support.  Neville A. Anderson, managing director of Green Energy Partners, said construction on the 79,710-square-foot plant is expected to start in September. The facility will be built in Southeast DeKalb County on Rogers Lake Road, just outside the city of Lithonia, on the same street as an existing landfill. Green Energy plans to covert wood chips that are hauled to the site into energy that will be sold to Georgia Power. An application must be submitted to the Environmental Protection Division before work can start, Anderson said. “I am grateful to the board of commissioners and the Planning and Zoning Department who researched the facts and decided to move forward,” Anderson said. Despite the Board of Commissioners’ approval, opponents say the battle is not over. They say they are planning to file an injunction to halt the project and they are organizing a recall to oust DeKalb County Commissioner Lee May. Opponents are upset with May, whose district includes the site where the project will be built, because he supported the project. “They were derelict in their duties to vote for this project. There was overwhelming opposition—more than 1,000 signatures collected—and they still approved it,” said John Evans, who heads Operation Lead, a civil rights organization. Evans said his organization is working on the injunction and recall, as well as writing letters to the U.S. Justice Department and EPD. May said he felt confident that he and the commission acted in the best interest of the county. He said he believed opponents to the project based their position on misleading information they received. “President Obama is pushing for green energy because renewable energy is much better for the environment than coal, which is what 90 percent of our energy is produced from right now,” May said. May said the commission approved the project with 18 conditions, which included the establishment of a citizens’ advisory board that would be appointed to oversee the plant. May said the conditions also stipulate that the plant will only use wood debris and yard waste to produce energy and that no carpet, tires or other debris could be used at the site. The hours of operation will be restricted with the plant open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Trucks delivering the wood chips must be covered. To read DeKalb Commissioner Lee May’s open letter to the community, visit the Speak Out section on the homepage