Renovo Energy Center project deals with delay
RENOVO, PA – Developers of the proposed Renovo Energy Center project are dealing with another snag, this one delaying the billion dollar project for as much as another year. Developers last fall were hoping to begin construction this spring for the natural gas-to-electricity plant first announced in 2014.
While the state Department of Environmental Protection has approved the needed permits for the project, opponents last year appealed that decision and requested a hearing before the applicable state appeal board. According to Mike Flanagan, President/CEO of the Clinton County Economic Partnership, that process could cause a delay of a year or more:
“As of mid-March, the Renovo Energy Center power plant is still on line to be constructed. A process to get ready for an environmental hearing board session due to the actions of environmental groups such as the Clean Air Council is underway. That could be a year away before there is a hearing.”
Flanagan, involved in the project for the past eight years in his capacity in furthering economic development in the county, expressed his most pointed frustration to date in a statement to therecord-online:
“Groups and individuals have the right to what they feel they need to do. On the other side, a project this size will mean hundreds of people coming to the job site on and off for more than two years. They will eat here, sleep here, buy at the local hardware store, and hook up their recreational vehicles. DEP not only approved the air quality permit for this project once, but basically a second time, and that is the one being appealed at this time. If we can’t trust the people who protect our environment, who can we trust? And if we don’t get a power plant in Renovo, what does or doesn’t come in the future to the old railyards across the tracks?”
Opponents last fall sent out a mailer to Renovo area residents urging its recipients to contact their municipal officials to express concerns about the environmental impact of the project, planned for the old railyard site on the north side of Renovo.
That mailer, paid for by project opponent Clean Air Council, was critical about a negative effect on the environment it says will result from a 6.5 mile pipeline which will be needed to carry natural gas from a nearby transmission line through Noyes and Chapman townships to the gas-fired power plant planned for the north side of Renovo.
Renovo Borough Council has remained in support of the proposal and last year they were joined in a letter of “strong support” from the Clinton County Commissioners, Flanagan, state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz and state Sen. Cris Dush.
