SPSA OKs plan to sell gas for clean energy project

SUFFOLK

Plans to build an electrical generating plant to turn methane gas from the regional landfill into clean energy are a step closer to reality.

The Southeastern Public Service Authority's board of directors has approved a plan, three years in the making, to sell landfill gas to GPC Green Energy LLC.

Skip Smith, an executive of the Silver Spring, Md.-based company, said Monday he expects contracts for the project to be signed this week.

The company plans to build a $26 million cogeneration plant at the old Ciba Specialty Chemicals plant, now owned by Basf Corp., off Wilroy Road not far from the landfill. When completed in 2011, it will generate electricity to operate the chemical plant and supply energy for 3,000 homes, Smith said.

Methane gas has been commercially extracted from the SPSA landfill for more than 15 years and piped to the Ciba plant, where it has been used for chemical manufacturing and steam production. This will be the first time the gas is turned into electricity.

In a related move, the Suffolk City Council on Wednesday is expected to designate the central part of the city - which includes the Wilroy Road site - an economic recovery zone, making the project eligible for low-interest bonds.

The council also intends to designate a second recovery zone in the city's northern high-tech corridor, an area that would be hit hard economically if the U.S. Department of Defense closes the Joint Forces Command center in northern Suffolk. The city has projected losses of up to 10,000 jobs as well as $2.5 million to $4 million a year in tax revenues if JFCOM and related businesses disappear.

Jeff Sheler, (757) 222-5563, jeff.sheler@pilotonline.com