SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) — South Sioux City officials have given final approval to the sale of a seven-acre tract of land that will become the future site of a $3.75 million renewable fuels power plant.
The proposed 3-megawatt plant will be built by Kentucky-based Green Star Energy Group and bring 15 jobs to the northeast Nebraska community, the Sioux City Journal reported. The plant will run on wood waste and is projected to provide about 8 percent of the city's electricity.
Green Star is purchasing the site for the plant, located in South Sioux City's Roth Industrial Development Park, from the city's Community Development Agency for $140,000.
The purchase price will be paid at a rate of $20,000 per year for seven years, with funding coming from tax-increment financing. Tax-increment financing, or TIF, diverts property tax increases from new construction to fund economic development.
Construction will likely begin next spring, and the plant is slated to be complete by July 1, 2018, City Administrator Lance Hedquist said.
Earlier this year, Green Star unveiled a smaller power plant in the city's Scenic Park. The plant, fed with wood waste and dead trees from the riverfront park, breaks down the molecular structure of the wood to create clean electricity with no emissions.
That system will be used to power the city-run campground and nearby water treatment plant, helping save the city about $40,000 a year in energy costs.
