43
Unanimous support for power plant at hearing
By Jordan Cohen
LORDSTOWN
Supporters of the proposed $800 million natural-gas-fired power plant to be built in the Lordstown Industrial Park strongly encouraged the Ohio Power Siting Board to approve the facility’s application during a public hearing Tuesday at Lordstown High School.
Another indication of the plant’s support: There was no opposition among the 14 people giving testimony before Administrative Law Judge Greta See of Columbus.
The hearing drew about 75 people to the high-school auditorium. It had been scheduled for the Lordstown Administration Center but was moved because of what was described as air-conditioning problems.
The absence of opposition and a previous recommendation to certify the project by the siting board’s staff are viewed as vital to the plant’s approval. A final board decision is not anticipated for an additional 30 to 60 days, See said.
Bill Siderewicz, president of Clean Energy Future of Massachusetts, the firm planning to construct the project, had said last month he believes the 800-megawatt plant could have a $1.45 billion impact on the Mahoning Valley in its first 25 years of operation.
His message was not lost on the 14 speakers who represented the gamut of professions in the local economy, especially the labor unions who expect to benefit from the construction jobs.
“As building trades goes, so goes the economy,” said Don Crane, president of the Western Reserve Building and Construction Trades Council.
“This will help us financially now and well into the future,” said Amy Domino of the Lordstown Teachers Association, noting that her district and many others in Ohio are struggling financially. Sandra McBride, a school board member, called the district’s anticipated revenue from the facility “a transfusion.”
Clean Energy Future plans to donate $18 million to the Lordstown School District during the first 15 years of the plant’s operations.
Arno Hill, Lordstown village mayor, talked about the clean-energy aspect of the facility, which will “reduce carbon emissions ... and provide continued financial stability for the village and schools.”
Tom Humphries, president and chief executive officer of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, echoed Hill’s energy comments, noting that coal-fired plants are rapidly being shut down in Ohio.
“It’s an opportunity for this state and others that can use this plant in the future,” Humphries said.
Travis Eastham, Lordstown fire chief, said he studied Clean Energy Future’s gas-fired facility in Fremont and came away impressed.
“From a fire chief’s standpoint, it’s a safe, good facility,” Eastham said of the proposed 800-megawatt plant. “There is no safety issue.”
The next step in the approval process will occur Aug. 11 in Columbus with a hearing in which all parties involved in construction will be questioned by siting board representatives. The board decision is expected possibly “in less than a month after the hearing,” Siderewicz said.
The company president has projected that construction of his 17-acre plant could begin by Oct. 12. He expects construction to generate 450 jobs for nearly three years and then 26 permanent positions when the plant opens in May 2018.
The company has received 100-percent tax abatements from the Trumbull County commissioners, which eliminates certain property-tax payments.