New power plant could be built in city

Greenville is being considered as the site where a Lufkin-based company intends to build a new power plant, a facility which would put new emphasis on the “green” in Greenville.

The Greenville Board of Development has announced Greenville Energy LLC is looking at the city to construct a renewable clean energy power plant, utilizing a portion of the Greenville Electric Utility System (GEUS) steam plant, built in 1966, with additional facilities to be built next to the existing plant to complete the project.

“It is very energy friendly. It is very clean energy,” said Ron Robinson, president and CEO of the Board of Development.

When completed, the facility will be a 63 megawatt capacity plant providing power directly to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Details as to the estimated cost of the project and how many people might be employed to work at the facility were not included in the announcement issued Tuesday afternoon.

“The company has chosen not to release that at this point,” Robinson said. “That will be released in due time, should they choose Greenville.”

It shouldn’t take long to find out if the company plans to come to Greenville. Tuesday’s announcement indicated Greenville Energy will complete its review of the city as a potential site, along all of the major elements necessary to initiate construction of the project, within the next 90 to 120 days.

The plant would be powered by wood chips processed from clean, unused woody biomass from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and from East Texas. The chips would be processed elsewhere and shipped to Greenville.

Robinson said the Board of Development, the City of Greenville and GEUS have worked as partners for more than a year with Greenville Energy LLC to bring the project to the city, with the Board of Development acting as the official contact.

Robinson said the facility could be a major win for the local economy.

“This project from inception, if we are successful in attracting it to Greenville and Hunt County, will have the largest economic impact of any new industry attracted to Greenville,” Robinson said. “The investment is very significant.”

Robinson said the company is not seeking any tax abatements and the plant would meet or exceed all federal, state and local environmental impact regulations.

“The Greenville Board of Development reviews many proposed industrial projects each year,” Robinson said. “A few move forward, most do not. We review each project based upon its fit for Greenville, the number and types of jobs created and the resulting tax base increase for Greenville, Hunt County, the Greenville Independent School District, and the Hunt Memorial Hospital District. This project passes all of these tests with flying colors.”

Robinson stressed that as of Tuesday afternoon, Greenville was still under consideration for the project, and that the final decision had not been made.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Danny Vines with Greenville Energy LLC said an announcement concerning the decision is expected soon.

“Most of all, if we do locate in Greenville, we will be an important part of the Greenville and Hunt County community for many years,” Hines said.

The proposed plant is not connected to the Cobisa power plant, which was proposed for Greenville several years ago