Winstanley Enterprises announced Monday that it wants to build a $150 million, 25-megawatt wood-fired power plant next to its building in the North Springfield Industrial Park.
The proposal, called the North Springfield Sustainable Energy Project, has already made the shortlist of potential alternative projects assembled by Vermont utilities, which together are seeking 100 megawatts of sustainably-generated power, according to Adam Winstanley.
The biomass plant would be built on land immediately adjacent to the former Fellows Corp. plant, which Winstanley Enterprises purchased three years ago and refurbished to great success. There are now three companies, employing 350 people, in the Winstanley building.
The biomass plant would buy what the company called "waste wood" from area loggers and foresters in a 50-mile radius of the North Springfield plant. It would produce enough electricity for 25,000 homes, according to Ron Hosie, the project manager. Adam Winstanley said the company had been studying the idea for more than a year, and its economic viability was not dependent on any economic incentives contained in President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package, which is still pending in Congress. He also said the company had been researching the project before three Vermont utilities sought alternative energy proposals late last year.
"The North Springfield Sustainable Energy Project will provide reliable, local renewable energy to the region in an environmentally beneficial way," Winstanley said to a group of local leaders and legislators. "We also expect this to create a number of new jobs throughout the Precision Valley."
Construction of the plant would require about 100 people, and the plant would need a full-time staff of about 25 people. Winstanley estimated that at least 150 jobs would be created producing the woodchips needed by the plant.
Winstanley said the plant would be carbon neutral and would employ state-of-the-art environmental controls.
Obama has proposed many alternative energy projects, and if the bill passes, it will make the project even more economically stronger, said Ken Grant, Winstanley's vice president for assets.
The company also noted that it started looking at the biomass plant before Central Vermont Public Service, Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Cooperative started looking for 100 megawatts of sustainably-generated power.
The state's energy future is facing massive potential change as the federal license for Vermont Yankee nuclear plant expires in 2012, and with it the source of one-third of Vermont's electricity. Additionally, the state's contracts with Hydro-Quebec are also expiring by 2015.
The company said that it would take about two years to get the necessary permits for the project and two years to construct it and said the company had the resources to build the plant itself without financing. The company did not have any schematic drawings of the plant at its afternoon press conference.
The company said that an existing electric substation, which at one time supplied the former Fellows Corp. and employed more than 1,100 workers making gear-cutting machinery, was an added plus to the project.
Steve Costello, spokesman for Central Vermont Public Service, declined to discuss the Winstanley project, saying the company had signed confidentiality agreements. But according to earlier press releases from CVPS about its request for proposals, the company expects to make a decision on what projects it will buy power from in March.
Dottie Schnure, a spokeswoman for Green Mountain Power, the state's second largest utility, confirmed the Winstanley project, but also cited confidentiality agreements. She said GMP planned on making its selections in the spring.The Rutland Herald
