MANCELONA -- Backers of a wood-fueled biomass power plant set for construction in Mancelona are working on a utility power purchase agreement.
Plant construction could begin this summer if an agreement is finalized and investors line up. The result is billed as a 36-megawatt, wood-fired power plant expected to employ up to 25 workers in Antrim County's Mancelona Township.
"We're working with a few power providers to purchase our power," said Ben Brower, spokesman for Mancelona Renewable Resources LLC, a partnership between Traverse City-based Jordan Exploration Company and Tira Vento LLC of Traverse City.
Resident agents for the companies are Robert Boeve and Martin Lagina, respectively, who both have long careers in the energy industry.
Brower said the company hopes to land a deal to sell power for close to current rates for wind energy. A Missaukee County wind farm sells its wind power for between $88 and $115 per megawatt hour, much more than coal-fired power rates. Lagina is chief financial officer for the wind farm.
"We feel like we're close, but we won't know until we get it signed," Brower said.
Then comes a search for investors for the approximately $150 million project sited east of U.S. 131 along Elder Road, just south of Mancelona.
Brower said it will take three years to build the plant and it could become operational in 2013. State regulators this year approved an air quality permit.
A plant that could create local jobs and an enhanced tax base would be welcomed, said Mike Biehl, Mancelona Township clerk.
"We have been very depressed in this area with the loss of jobs," he said.
The biggest hit to Mancelona came in 2008 when Dura Automotive shuttered its latch-and-hinge manufacturing plant and idled about 300 workers. The town hasn't recovered.
Biehl said many in the community want the biomass plant to bring vitality back to Mancelona.
"Hopefully this will spur some of the economy in other areas," he said.
Participants at a public hearing in December included both biomass plant supporters and opponents, Biehl said.
Among the concerns is whether the area's forests can support a wood-burning plant. Brower contends it can, both with wood chips from logging operations and low-value timber.
"Our fuel studies tell us we'll only use seven percent of annual growth. We think we're not even going to scratch the surface," he said.
That's also been a concern in Traverse City, where city-owned Light & Power is investigating whether to invest in biomass plants. The public utility is expected to decide next month.
