When a top European power producer went in search of timber to fuel its electricity plants it found a seemingly perfect partner in the deep pine forests of south Georgia.
The state’s forestry industry had been hit hard by the recession and the housing market collapse. But a new European mandate to boost the use of renewable energy seemed to provide a new path forward.The Waycross plant would use a new technology to dry out wood and turn it into tiny pellets used as environmentally-friendly fuel for electricity generation. They produce less harmful emissions than coal fired plants.
“This project appears to be an opportunity to capitalize on two of Georgia’s major assets: biomass availability and the Savannah port,” state officials wrote in a report assessing whether they should approve a grant.
“This is also an opportunity for Georgia to take a leading position in the growing renewable energy market that is set to take a major presence in the world economy.”
A economic impact analysis conducted by Georgia Tech estimated the project by RWE subsidiary Georgia Biomass would pump an additional $1.5 million over 10 years into Ware County.
The state ultimately OK’d $342,743 to help build a rail spur used to ship wood pellets from the Waycross, Ga. plant to the port in Savannah and then across the Atlantic. Local officials also dug deep to woo the company. The Okefenokee Area Development Authority contributed $1.3 million for construction of the plant. The county took out a $500,000 loan for construction and engineering.The state grant and local incentives translate into $26,929 per job for positions that, on average, pay $36,483 a year, state documents show.
And that doesn’t include tax credits worth another $1.5 million over five years, essentially eliminating Georgia Biomass’ tax bill for the first few years, records show. Additionally, the company only pays $1 for its annual lease and has a decade of property tax abataments.
Less than a year after the state awarded granted the plant was up and running in May 2011 and wood pellets from Georgia pine trees are now powering homes in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
The plant has created the full 80 jobs it promised, according to state records.
The project has not been without its problems, however. In April, the Georgia Biomass was fined $100,000 by state environmental officials for excessive emissions of volatile organic compounds. Company officials say that once the plant began operating they discovered emissions they hadn’t anticipated and reported their finding to the state Environmental Protection Division. The company will apply for an additional permit and expects to have new equipment in place to capture the excess emissions by early 2014.
