Posted by Ed on November 28, 2007, 12:49 am
24.34.144.49
POWER PLANT
Battle lines drawn sharply
By Jennifer Amy Myers jmyers@lowellsun.com
BILLERICA - From the first rumblings 14 months ago, plans for a power plant in North Billerica have divided the community.
Several town officials; including Chief Assessor Richard Scanlon, are openly supporting the idea. Others, such as state Rep. William Greene, paint the proposal as potentially dangerous.
Union members have mobi¬lized in support, as have resi¬dents who are determined to stop construction.
The plant proposal is wending its way through state and local permitting. The battle continues to wage on as the proponents and opponents disagree about sev¬eral issues, including safety, air quality, and water use.
The plant
The $200 million, 348 megawatt Billerica Energy Center, proposed by Mont¬gomery Billerica Power Part¬ners, will occupy 16 acres on Billerica Avenue, a heavily traveled mix of residential and commercial property between the Billerica train station and an Interstate 495 interchange. The plant would be built behind an auto junkyard along the Concord River on a 131.4¬acre industrial site. The site includes Baker Commodities and an animal rendering facility. The nearest home is about three tenths of a mile away.
The plant is designed to meet demand at "peak" hours, such as hot days when air conditioners and appliances when the region's energy grid cannot meet demands, and the grid at risk of blackouts or brownouts. The proponents estimate that it will likely run about 1,100 hours per year, but up to 2,300 hours.
The plant will run primarily on natural gas, but can run on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel if there is a high residential demand for gas, such as an extremely cold week.
The plant expected to gen¬erate $30 million in tax rev¬enues to the town during the next 20 years. Proponents and supporters, many of them local union workers, say the plant will create 200 construction jobs. Few people will work there regularly because the plant will not be operating most of the time, they said.
The company will seek to make a payment to the town in lieu of taxes, up to $1.5 mil¬lion per year for 20 years.
Joseph Fitzpatrick, CEO of DG Clean Power, a partner in the plant, says the power demand in the region hit a high in August 2006 that was not expected to be seen until summer 2008. With no power plants built in the Merrimack Valley since the early 1990s, Fitzpatrick says the area is in need of peaking technology supplied by the proposed plant.
DG Clean Power said the Billerica plant will be state-of -the-art, and that there are few others like it. A similar, but larger, power plant operates around the clock in Belling¬ham, on the Rhode Island bor¬der. Experts consider it among the cleanest in the country.
Town officials there have said they have had no problem with the plant, and almost no complaints from residents. Members of Billerica Watch¬ers have said they visited the neighborhood, and found unhappy residents.
Ian Bowles, the state's Sec¬retary of Energy and Environ¬mental Affairs, recently released his ruling on the projects draft Environmental Impact Report. He said the proposed plant “complies with Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act,” and has requested the final EIR include additional information pertaining to wetlands, storm water, water supply, air quality, noise, hazardous waste impacts and mitigation.
The opposition
The Billerica Watchers' interest group on Yahoo has more than 130 members. They have opposed the plant at pub¬lic hearings, and have served as intervenors in state hearings.
Watchers members include a research-and-development technician, three daycare providers, a clerical worker, a printer, an engineer worked in the power industry for more than 35 years, and an attorney.
The Watchers, led by resi¬dent Ed Camplese, argue that the town is endangered by the plant. They say the plant is unsafe on several levels, includ¬ing the amount of pollutants it will send into the air, lack of security in the area, and poten¬tial for polluting water sources.
They have argued that no amount of tax revenue is enough to threaten residents' security. And they said that the impact on the local economy will be small, and temporary.
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