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February 8, 2008
Bio Energy recently approached the Board of Selectmen to discuss resolving certain remaining litigation and finding a use for its site in West Hopkinton that would satisfy the needs of all concerned. As a result of this inquiry, members of the Board of Selectmen and REACH have held meetings with Bio Energy. While a resolution to the pending litigation has not yet been achieved, the Board of Selectmen feels that the residents of the Town of Hopkinton should be made aware of the contact of the ongoing discussions and of Bio Energy’s recent proposal.
Bio Energy has expressed interest in building a 30 to 34 MW electric generation facility that would be wholly fueled by clean wood chips. In order to build such a facility, the current 12 MW facility would be mostly demolished and replaced by the new facility. Bio Energy has also indicated it is willing to consider any other use of the site that makes economic sense. Regardless of what ultimate use is determined, it wants to proceed with the cooperation of the Town and its citizens.
According to preliminary estimates from Bio Energy, this facility would require approximately 300,000 to 360,000 tons of wood chips per year in fuel. Approximately 40 to 50 trucks per day would deliver the wood chips to the facility, the estimated boiler height would be between 100 to 120 feet, the estimated smoke stack height would be between 150 to 190 feet and the wood storage pile height would be approximately 50 feet. The proposed facility would meet the recently-enacted New Hampshire Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires very stringent emission controls and monitoring.
It is estimated that a new wood fueled electric generation facility of this size will have an approximate value of $60 to $70 million dollars. The Town engaged a private consultant to estimate the gross tax revenue from such a facility. The consultant indicated that the range of potential tax revenues could be $300,000 to $1,300,000 per year.
The Board of Selectmen encourages any resident of the Town of Hopkinton to share their views on this proposal with the Board of Selectmen. Contact the Selectmen via email at selectmen@tds.net or for further information; please contact Robert Veloski, Hopkinton Town Administrator, at (603) 746-2892.
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