County Commissioner Sue Hakes
With $940,000 of the county’s $20,000,000 1 percent recreation and infrastructure sales tax revenue still uncommitted, the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) Biomass Committee went before the county board on June 19 to request that it be reserved for potential biomass projects.
The language of the legislation authorizing the tax left room for any number of projects but also included a list of specific projects that had already been identified. On that list was a biomass-fueled energy facility.
“We’re fairly confident that a biomass district heating facility might be feasible for Cook County,” said George Wilkes of CCLEP. They are working on the second phase of a comprehensive study to determine the feasibility of such a facility.
The first phase examined the availability of biomass, technologies that could be used to make use of it, and the financial implications involved. The second phase takes a close look at the environmental, economic and community impacts of several specific facility configurations. Two of the most promising involve a heating facility that would serve governmental buildings along Fifth Street in Grand Marais or those buildings along with downtown businesses.
The committee plans to share its findings to date in July, including preliminary information on life cycle assessment, environmental impacts, and projected emissions from the proposed plant. It is working on engaging the Cook County logging community in discussions regarding the project. The study is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
How much of the 1 percent revenue are they hoping for? Commissioner Bruce Martinson asked. Paul Nelson of the Biomass Committee and Cook County Firewise said they wouldn’t know exactly until after they send out requests for proposals for a specific project. He had sent a memo to commissioners proposing that some of the money be used to conduct an assessment of potential customers and their needs, develop a business plan, and design the facility.
George Wilkes said they would be closer to making a specific request in two to three months. He envisioned asking for $250,000-$300,000 for continued analysis and for the rest of the 1 percent revenue to help pay for building the facility and perhaps loan businesses money to hook up to the system.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said that they should expect to hear a lot of public opinion on where such a facility should or should not be located.
The county board declined the committee’s request that they designate the rest of the 1 percent revenue for a biomass project. With the other 1 percent projects, it has committed revenue only upon submission of an official application regarding a specific project. They unanimously passed a motion asking the Biomass Committee to submit a formal application for the rest of the $20,000,000.
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