Staring into the open field across from their house in Milltown, Ind., Rodney and Linda Jenkins strained their eyes against the morning sun and pointed out where the proposed $90 million biomass power plant would be located.
Liberty Green Renewables, LLC, proposed the facility in January 2009. The proposal included plans to build a 32-megawatt facility, the first of its kind in the Hoosier state.
The plant would be considered a green energy source because of the company’s plans to turn wood waste into electricity.
Many citizens of Milltown said they have done their research, and their small town — which has a population of less than 1,000 — is not an appropriate location for a biomass power plant. The opposition to the project can be seen without getting out of your car, as yard signs that read “Say No to Biomass” line the roads of the small town.
For the plans to go through, Liberty Green must overcome the extensive citizen research that biomass plants can cause problems in communities.
Liberty Green partner Terrance Naulty claims the operation of the plant would not disrupt the small community and that fear is to be expected in communities where it proposes renewable energy centers.
“At the end of the day, it is our belief that the vocal minority in the county simply don’t want this facility in their backyard, as evidenced by their statements that we should ‘move the plant to the Crawford County industrial park or somewhere down along the Ohio River,’” Naulty said in an e-mail interview.
Milltown residents and environmental activists have many concerns about the proposed plans, including how the plant will affect the local air and water pollution.
“The biggest concern we have is that there won’t be enough wood to power their operations,” Rodney Jenkins said. “Liberty Green has never said that they won’t start burning garbage or other substances, they just say it isn’t in their plans.”
In today’s economy, jobs are a top priority — especially in an area like Crawford County, where the unemployment rate in April 2010 reached 10.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Naulty said the plant’s construction would boost employment for the region, and up to 175 skilled construction workers would be hired for the two-year construction phase. After the plant is operational, there will be full-time positions for 25 people with an average annual payroll of $1.25 million, Naulty said.
Despite this information, Rodney Jenkins said he is still skeptical. He said most of the high-paying jobs Liberty Green is proposing will be located in New Albany, Ind., instead of Milltown.
“They’ll probably hire three to four people to drive forklifts, and that’s it,” he said.
Community members come together every month at the Crawford County commissioner meetings to stay informed on the latest news of the proposed plant. Linda Jenkins said 15 to 30 people attended the meetings before the plant was proposed, and those numbers have been consistent since the proposal was announced in early 2009.
“We’ve never had anyone come to the commissioner meetings that have been for the biomass plant,” she said. “Well, there was one person who did, but he owns a lumber company. But he came that one time and he’s never been back.”
The potential health side effects which residents said could accompany the proposed plant are a major concern for Linda Jenkins. She battled breast cancer a few years ago, and her husband suffered a heart attack 10 years ago. The Jenkinses can see the site for the proposed plant by looking out their front door.
“We want business to come here, but we want to make sure it’s regulated and something that’s going to help the county,” she said. “Not only will our property values probably go down, our health insurance rates will go up.”
Naulty believes these fears are unnecessary.
“The Indiana environment will be improved as a result of the facility,” he said. “Air, water and solid wastes from the Crawford County Renewable Energy plant will be significantly lower than the coal-based energy that would otherwise have been used to generate the energy that our facility will displace.”
Sen. Richard Young, D-Ind., is a resident of Milltown and said despite the opposition to the Liberty Green project, their community isn’t as political as surrounding areas such as Bloomington.
“Milltown residents aren’t constantly on guard, and they aren’t the type of people that stay organized looking for new issues,” he said. “There basically has to be an emergency to get this type of reaction. People here only respond when a situation motivates them.”
The Jenkinses said they feel there has been one positive aspect of this controversy — the situation has resulted in new friendships and people bonding over this emotionally charged issue.
“Our casual acquaintances that we’ve known our whole lives, now we stop to talk to them,” Linda Jenkins said. “We have one friend that lives right down the road. Before this, we knew her, but we didn’t really have any ties. Now we talk pretty much every day.”