Public forum tonight for new Perry County power plant discussion

Concerns are being raised about the environmental impact of a proposed wood-fueled power plant in Perryville, Mo.

There will be a public forum to discuss the project at 6:30 p.m. today at the Perryville Senior Citizens Center, 4 North Spring St.

Liberty Green Renewables of Georgetown, Ind., plans to build a $120 million facility adjacent to the Perryville Industrial Park to burn wood chips to produce electricity.

Some fear the facility would also be used to burn old tires or garbage, according to a statement from the Missouri Coalition for the Environment. Opponents also are concerned about air quality, damage to forests and the impacts on wildlife.

"There's a lot of misinformation out there. Some people think they're going to burn treated wood, painted wood, trash or even dead animals. That is not the case. The only thing they will be permitted to burn is clean wood waste, said Brent Buerck, Perryville city administrator. This wood waste comes from local sawmills and scraps produced by the logging industry.

The new facility will create 200 construction jobs over the next two years and 25 to 35 full-time positions once operations begin, Buerck said.

City officials will not attend the public forum as it was scheduled at the same time at the city council's regular bi-monthly meeting.

Jack Farley, partner with Liberty Green Renewables, will be at the public forum to share the company's plans in Perryville.

Liberty is in the process of developing three other similar plants in Indiana, Tennessee and Texas. The facilities use heat from burning wood chips to turn water into steam. The steam then drives a turbine generator to produce electricity, Farley explained.

The company's Perryville plant will sell its electricity to Wabash Valley Power Association, a cooperative utility headquartered in Indiana, Farley said. Wabash serves many smaller electric co-ops in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri, including Citizens Electric Corporation, which provides power to Ste. Genevieve, Perry and Northern Cape Girardeau Counties.

The plant will produce enough electricity to serve 23,000 homes daily, Farley said.

In 2008 Missouri voters passed Proposition C: Clean Energy Initiative which requires utility companies to purchase a gradually increasing percentage of their electric supplies from renewable sources such as wood, wind, solar or hydro power. By the year 2021, a total of 15 percent of electricity must be from renewable sources. Currently, more than 30 states have similar requirements.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent Address: 4 North Spring St. Perryville