Local leaders welcome project

YOUNGSTOWN — Reaction from local leaders who attended the unveiling of a proposal for a waste-burning power plant near Alliance was uniformly positive.

“I don’t think this could have come at a better time,” said Anthony T. Traficanti, chairman of the Mahoning County commissioners, noting escalating fuel prices.

The area welcomes the new jobs, Traficanti said, adding that he wants to explore ways the plant could help reduce utility costs locally. “I want to reduce the utility bills of all Mahoning County consumers,” he said.

“I know this is the wave of the future, and would certainly want to work with you in bringing a plant of this magnitude to Mahoning County,” Traficanti told officials of Jefferson Renewable Energy LLC on Tuesday.

Traficanti made his remarks at a meeting of the Mahoning County Solid Waste Policy Committee where the proposal was presented.

“We’re going to generate electricity, and we’re going to be part of the negotiation to lower the rates for the residents” and businesses, said county Commissioner David N. Ludt, who favors the project.

“I think it will be beneficial to Smith Township. Hopefully, we can get a lower rate on our energy,” said Val Winters, trustee of Smith Township, where the plant would be located at the Central Waste landfill. “The landfill itself won’t grow that much because this waste is going to be reused and regenerated into electricity, which will benefit everybody.”

Jim Petuch, director of the county’s recycling division, said he favors the proposal. “Any way we can take solid waste and be able to take that as a commodity, as a natural resource, and make it into energy is great with me,” he said. “Once items go into a landfill, they’re benign, but we can’t extract any value out of them.”

“We need to bring ourselves into the 21st century as far as energy. Energy costs are rising,” said Tom Presby, manager of business assistance projects for the Regional Chamber, who favors the project.

To be competitive in the world economy, “we need to reduce our energy costs,” by embracing new technology and making it work locally, he said.

“Businesses are very much concerned with the deregulation of electricity here next year, where it becomes market-driven,’’ he added. With their profit margins likely “razor thin,” businesses fear losing their competitive edge, he observed.

“The $235 million in investment is going to be a big plus for our local economy. There’s going to be a lot of spinoff development associated with that. It’s going to be creating a lot of good-paying jobs,” Presby said.

“This could be a start of a future for the Mahoning Valley as far as dealing with energy,’’ said Robert Carcelli, former Struthers City Council president. “It’s nice to see that a company is willing to come in and invest $235 million of their own money.”

As electric rates undergo deregulation in Ohio, electric rate reduction is a priority in the Mahoning Valley, he said. ‘‘It’s time that we take these commodities — this garbage that they’ve been dumping — and turn it into energy,’’ he said.