State approval could be close for Somerset ethanol plant
Delmarva Now!
A proposal by Chesapeake Renewable Energy LLC is close to winning a state approval that the project principal calls crucial to making an ethanol-producing biomass power plant a reality for Somerset County.
A Dec. 9 public information session set by the Maryland Department of the Environment is a final step before an anticipated air quality permit is issued by the Maryland Department of the Environment, said Mack Shelor, project director at Chesapeake.
If built, the plant could become Somerset County's sole renewable energy manufacturing facility in the wake of last summer's shutdown of Greenlight Biofuels, a biodiesel manufacturer. Greenlight closed for repairs after a May 2008 explosion that killed a contract worker, then reopened for a few months before closing again indefinitely in summer 2009. When operating, the company produced 10,000 daily gallons of biodiesel from greases like chicken fat and cooking oil, and employed between 10 and 12 people.
An air-quality permit is considered a critical piece among several licenses required to develop the biomass plant proposed to produce 20 megawatts of energy using wood scraps, Shelor said. Steam generated from energy manufacturing would be applied to the ethanol-producing process with an annual output of 15 million gallons, he says.
Barley would be used in the plant's ethanol-making component, creating a new opportunity for area farmers to capitalize on the commodity in the marketplace, Shelor said.
Jobs for the county would equal upward of 200 direct opportunities, and indirectly, at least 1,000, he also said.
A draft approval by MDE was issued in November, and a final OK after the public session would push the plant past a major hurdle and toward a tentative construction start date next spring, Shelor said.
"MDE says we meet the qualification, and they have issued me a draft permit," Shelor said this week. "The air permit is a critical permit; the rest should be a lot smoother.
"I've been pulling on a rope for a long time; I'm pleased to see it," Shelor said.
The Wednesday public session will be the second on air quality held by MDE. At an August session in Princess Anne, Shelor assured an audience that the plant's impact on water and air would be little to none.
The proposed plant also has generated buzz about product transport, although Shelor reasons that a fuel distributor, such as Salisbury's Cato Gas & Oil, could haul ethanol from the plant after emptying petroleum to existing customers, creating no additional truck traffic along county highways.
