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

Keep Reading

Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor and AJC Publisher Andrew Morse were joined by AJC editors and Atlanta business react during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Midtown on Friday, January 24, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo