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Wood chip power plant canceled

August 26, 2014 Decatur - DeKalb County commissioners (from left) Jeff Rader, Stan Watson, Larry Johnson, Sharon Barnes Sutton and Kathie Gannon listen during a public comment session at a meeting at Dekalb County Government Administration Building in Decatur on Tuesday, August 26, 2014. A day after resigning from office, DeKalb County Commissioner Elaine Boyer announced in court Tuesday she pleaded guilty to federal charges accusing her of two schemes to pocket tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayers. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Credit: Mark Niesse

Credit: Mark Niesse

August 26, 2014 Decatur - DeKalb County commissioners (from left) Jeff Rader, Stan Watson, Larry Johnson, Sharon Barnes Sutton and Kathie Gannon listen during a public comment session at a meeting at Dekalb County Government Administration Building in Decatur on Tuesday, August 26, 2014. A day after resigning from office, DeKalb County Commissioner Elaine Boyer announced in court Tuesday she pleaded guilty to federal charges accusing her of two schemes to pocket tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayers. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
By Mark Niesse
Dec 9, 2014

The DeKalb County Commission voted Tuesday to terminate a contract that was intended to convert wood chips into electricity.

Green Energy Partners-DeKalb planned to build the $60 million plant near Lithonia, but construction never began. The agreement with the county, approved in 2010, called for the facility to be built within two years.

DeKalb County would have sold waste from its  Seminole Landfill to power the plant.

Community members opposed the plant because they feared the possibility of carcinogenic emissions.

"The community has spoken, and we have taken action," said Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May. "Hopefully this gives the residents some closure, as the cancellation of this contract removes the source of the fuel for the a gasification plant, no matter where it would be built."

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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