Stanley (WQOW) - A green energy project could take root in Chippewa County. Green Energy Partners wants to build a
methane digesting facility in Stanley.
The project is just one potential business development in town.
Business is booming in Stanley.
"As you see,
Stanley has experienced, with their aggressive pro-business attitude, they're
starting to reap the benefits of that with ShopKo, Hixwood Metal expansion, all
these things that are going on," says Charlie Walker, the Chippewa County
Economic Development Corporation.
Green Energy Partners is looking at
purchasing 30-45 acres of land in the city's east industrial park for a methane
digester. The facility would use manure to produce methane gas.
"It allows our existing
agriculture base to have an output for some of their grasses and their hays and
their byproduct that can then be used to create additional energy, which then
can be sold back, reducing their operating costs," Walker says.
But with that boom in business, comes
a number of issues.
"One of the problems is
that, quite frankly, the company is proposing using this as their egress to
their facility down the road, and that's going to put a lot of pressure on this
intersection," Walker
says.
With 20-30 trucks heading down
highway 29 to the facility, an interchange would need to be put in.
With the potential of 100 to 200
employees at the facility, housing also becomes an issue.
"We'd like to have the
employees live in the city of Stanley,
or at least in the area, so it's going to help the school system out with
increased students, but we're also going to need to address, soon, the need for
housing," says Stanley Mayor Mike Henke.
But the city is planning for the
future, by allowing for even more expansion in the industrial park.
"We're also looking at
the plans of the whole facility, what we intend is going to go out there, so if
new development wants to come out there, we're ready to go," Henke says.
Truck drivers and engineers are
among the jobs that will be filled. The
company will work with the city attorney to come up with a developer's
agreement which could go before the city council on August 20th.
