County in line for massive coal-to-energy plant

Green is a word rarely used to describe the coal and power industry.

But a private company in Vancouver, Wash., along with area union workers and economic development officials, plan to make sure the ''green'' in a proposed Columbiana County coal-to-fuel project lives up to the word, and brings some financial ''green'' to the area in the process.

Targeted for 600 acres along the Ohio River near Wellsville, the $6 billion Baard Energy plant would convert coal and biomass, such as wood chips, into liquid diesel that could fuel everything from commercial passenger jets to railroad engines to trucks.

If it becomes a reality, the plant will be the largest industrial investment since General Motors Corp. built its giant car assembly plant in Lordstown in the mid-1960s, area labor leaders believe.

The plant, known as Ohio River Clean Fuels processing facility, is expected to create 4,000 construction jobs and 450 permanent jobs, many of which will require at least an associate's college degree.

The project is gathering widespread support, from politicians trying to promote green energy and a way to trim reliance on foreign oil, to economic development officials who see it as an explosive spark to a stagnant economy and labor leaders who see it as a massive job generator.

The economic impact is expected to be huge, said Tracy Drake, chief executive officer of the Columbiana County Port Authority that runs the state's largest river port.

He said the economic rule of thumb is that each direct job creates two or three jobs in support businesses, meaning 900 to 1,350 workers could be hired for the plant's 450 permanent positions.

The number doesn't include retailers, restaurants and other jobs that could be created by the permanent jobs, not to mention the 4,000 construction workers who will ''basically double the size of Wellsville,'' he said. In addition, about 2,000 acres around Baard's site is available for what Drake believes will be ''a fair amount of development.''

John Baardson, chief executive officer of privately-held Baard Energy LLC, said a groundbreaking could occur in March or early April once the Columbiana County Port Authority takes ownership of the land as an industrial park. Construction could begin in 2010.

The land will be part of the port authority's Foreign Trade Zone, which will provide a tax break on Baard's operation something Baardson said is important because ''the product we make can be shipped around the world.''

Military interested in fuel

Baard projects the plant will be able to produce 53,000 barrels of clean diesel fuel daily. The early main customer was the U.S. Air Force, but Baardson said the military's interest gained the attention of other potential customers.

''Once the Air Force said it was premium, then commercial airlines, truckers, railroads said the same thing. The Air Force is no longer the main driver. Now we have a lot in the market place,'' he said.

Funding such a massive project is a challenge, especially in a time when lenders and investors are trying to survive what some believe is the worst recession since the Great Depression.

But the fact the plant fits the the growing focus on ''green'' energy is helping to raise its profile with federal and state officials who are projected to help financially.

In addition, the company is working to raise about $200 million from private equity investors by late March or early April for engineering and ground clearing, Baardson said.

Congress already has authorized $8 billion in federal loan guarantees for programs such as Baard Energy, company Vice President Steve Dopuch said. Baard snagged $2 billion of that amount, Baardson said.

The next ''big day'' after ground-breaking probably will come in June, the goal to complete final negotiations on the loan, he said.

Green process

The company has received as many as $2 million from Congress so it could test its carbon dioxide containment process. The process calls for the polluting gas to be injected into oil wells to boost recovery of that energy source.

The gas then is sealed in the well using high-strength, acid-free concrete that eventually ''becomes part of the ground,'' Baardson said.

Mother Nature, Baardson noted, succeeded in trapping gas below the ground for 130 million years.

''If we pick the right cement, we can get the same effect,'' he said.

The plant makes diesel fuel using the Fischer-Tropsch method, a system pioneered in the 1930s by German chemists to make fuel for the oil-poor Nazi war machine. The production method significantly reduces nitrogen oxides and sulfer oxides emission, and is biodegradeable, Baardson said.

Dopuch noted the lowest sulfer content possible in oil-based diesel is 15 parts per million.

''We'll be parts per billion, or essentially zero,'' he said.

Baardson said the plant will be able to convert roughly 25,000 tons of coal or biomass for now 70 percent coal a day into about 53,000 barrels of liquid. Some 35,000 to 38,000 barrels could be diesel, depending on the need for jet fuel, along with a low-grade gasoline called naptha that's used to produce other chemicals, including plastic, he said.

Why here?

Wellsville popped up on Baard's radar screen as the company was scouring the river system for a location, Port Authority leader Drake said. Company officials heard about the Intermodal facility in Wellsville and asked about available land, he said.

''It was pretty quick,'' Drake said.

The company, he said, was looking for access to the raw materials biomass, such as wood chips, and coal and for transportation to bring those materials to the plant, which the Intermodal operation offers in the form of river, truck and rail.

Company officials also wanted an interior U.S. site in order to avoid weather or security issues on the coasts. Proximity to customers and availability of skilled workers also were key factors, he said.

The plant has encountered relatively little opposition from environmentalists. Baard worked to explain the plant's ''green'' attributes whenever questions surfaced, Drake said.

''I think Baard is the epitome of what environmentalists want,'' he said. ''They're capturing 80 percent of carbon dioxide emissions and almost all of the mercury and other emissions. It's cleaner than any coal plant or petroleum refinery.''

Area construction workers made their views known at a key wastewater permit meeting in November. About 500 of the nearly 5,000-member Western Reserve Building and Construction Trades Council jammed into a key Ohio EPA hearing at Wellsville High School to support the project.

''We've done everything we can to partner with Baard and make sure our members are at the meetings so their voice is heard,'' Council President Don Crane said.

Construction work

Union leaders say the project is the biggest in the Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties since GM built the Lordstown car assembly plant in the mid-1960s.

Coincidentally, hundreds of electricians, pipefitters and other skilled tradepeople are working at the GM Lordstown Complex so it can get ready to build the Chevrolet Cruze starting in April 2010.

Mark Catello, business manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 573 in Warren, said his unemployed members would have a job they could drive to and still get home for the evening.

''It's a 45-minute commute, so they can go to work and stay at home. They'll buy groceries and gas here,'' he said.

Members of the electrical union who are jobless would sign the out-of-work list at the Steubenville union hall to be considered for work, he said.

Union members from the surrounding Wellsville area also would be in line for jobs, but Catello said he expects an ''overflow of need for manpower'' that his members could help fill.

''It's the biggest project we've ever seen,'' said Gary Marinelli, business manager for 400-member Local 396 of the United Association of Journeymen Plumbers and Pipefitters. He said the plant probably will need more than 1,000 pipefitters to weld the plant's maze of pipes.