SEDALIA, Mo., April 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The City of Sedalia and Aquila announced today that they will begin an extensive community outreach program to seek feedback on a proposed economic development project.
The proposed project would involve the city selling Aquila a tract of city-owned industrial property on which to build an electric energy center. The proposed facility would operate when additional power is needed on short notice, primarily during times of high demand, in emergencies, or when other generation facilities are undergoing maintenance. The 162 acres are located on the northwest edge of Sedalia, north of Main Street, between the closed city landfill and the wastewater treatment plant.
"Aquila has invested significantly in Sedalia over the years -- through the services it provides, the people it employs, the economic development dollars it invests here, and the charitable contributions it makes to this community," said Sedalia Mayor Bob Wasson. "If this moves forward, Aquila would be continuing that tradition with a project that would have a significant economic impact on the community and help us be poised for future economic growth."
The community outreach program will provide community residents with detailed information about the proposed project and seek feedback that will help the city and Aquila, the area's electric provider, determine the next steps.
"We want the community to have as much information as possible about this project so that they fully understand it and have many opportunities to provide feedback," said Ivan Vancas, Aquila operating vice president, Missouri Electric. "We want to know whether this investment is welcome in the community and will be viewed as a positive economic development asset."
The community outreach process will include public forums, presentations to civic clubs, meetings with neighbors and informational displays in public places.
Community meetings will be held April 24 and June 7 in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building and on May 9 at State Fair Community College. Two sessions with staggered times will be held each day to allow more people to attend. During the meetings, the mayor and Aquila's management will provide more information about the project, answer questions and listen to feedback from attendees. Additional meetings will be held with neighbors of the site.
The new energy center is needed because of increased customer demand for electrical power, Vancas said. Aquila's average residential customer is using up to 58 percent more electricity than 25 years ago.
"Simply put, we need more power," Vancas said. "When you think about the electronics that we have in our homes and offices now -- televisions, computers, video games, DVD players -- you can see that need. This facility would give us more flexibility in power generation, because it can power up quickly and be used for only as long as needed before it's powered back down."
Sedalia was selected as a possible site for the facility because it already is a load center for Aquila due to high power usage by local manufacturing plants. The property's natural features also were attractive.
"If we were to list all the features we look for in a site for a facility, this property meets them all," Vancas said. "It's on the edge of town near other industrial plants and would be screened by natural tree lines."
The proposed $150 million energy center would have three to four power-generating turbine units that would operate on natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel. An underground pipeline would likely be built to deliver natural gas to the site. The facility would also have the capability to use fuel oil as an alternate fuel. Each unit will have a maximum structure height of about 85 feet.
Aquila has also purchased an additional 128 acres of adjoining property that recently came on the market. "We purchased the land because we knew there is a potential that a facility could be built," Vancas said, "and we didn't want someone to buy that land without knowing about the proposed project."
If Aquila and the city decide to move forward with the project, construction would start no earlier than mid-2008 and take approximately a year to complete.
It is estimated that the project would create roughly 150 skilled construction jobs during the peak of activity. In addition, services and products will be purchased from local businesses when feasible.
If the project is accepted by the community and Aquila builds the energy center, the city would receive approximately $2.6 million from the sale of the land -- funds to support future community projects and services. In addition Aquila would make payments in lieu of taxes of $200,000 per year for 25 years, for a total of $5 million that would be divided among several county and city entities.
Aquila provides electric service to approximately 300,000 customers in Missouri, including 13,000 in Sedalia. State headquarters is in Raytown, Mo.
Based in Kansas City, Mo., Aquila owns electric power generation and operates electric and natural gas transmission and distribution networks serving approximately 900,000 customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. More information is available at www.aquila.com.
The Aquila, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1753