Economic Development Investment

[Ross]

Food for thought.

Investing can take many different paths !

But giving money is not investing ! There are no financial returns in bailouts.

With Federal Grants from different sources and possibly a State Grant and a great deal of planning could this be a possible investment that might help the economy of Elk County.Maybe provide lower electric bills for all residences and an income for Elk County permitting lower property taxes for all.

I appears to work for these two communities economies. Of course there would have to be a considerable amount of study before even considering the idea.

It's not just Stillwater, Oklahoma but Coffeyville, Kansas !

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Stillwater breaks ground on new power plant

The project will take one year to build and cost an estimated $70 million
By Michelle Charles/Stillwater News Press  Jul 10, 2015

The city of Stillwater is building a power plant that utility officials say will benefit not just city residents but electric utility customers throughout the region.

City staff and elected officials were joined by representatives from the Grand River Dam Authority, the city's wholesale power supplier, construction firm Burns and McDonnell and Wartsila, manufacturer of the gas-fired engines that will power the new plant, Thursday in celebrating the start of construction on the $70 million project.

The new 56 megawatt plant has more than twice the capacity of Boomer Lake Station and will provide quick start up capability and efficient operation, "The ability to have a 10 minute start time is amazing," said construction project engineer Christopher Guggino of Burns and McDonnell.

He said the city is pursuing a progressive approach by having Generation and Transmission Division Manager Loren Smith serve as general contractor on the project.

"It's not the easiest approach but it will pay dividends in getting to market faster," Guggino said.

The plant will be driven by giant, gas-fired engines manufactured by Wartsila, a Finnish manufacturer of engines commonly used in cruise ships and power plants.

Stillwater and a sister plant being built to the same specifications in Coffeyville, Kansas will be the first  in the central U.S. to use the Wartsila engines.

Gary Groninger of Wartsila said the cities are getting highly efficient plants that put them ahead of the curve and ahead of large, investor-owned utilities.

The engines' ability to operate efficiently in the hot Oklahoma summer was a strong selling point, Smith said.

Smith said he remembers the day three years ago he proposed the project to Stillwater Utilities Authority Director Dan

Blankenship.

"Later he told me he thought 'That guy's either crazy or he has one hell of an idea,' " Smith said.

Former mayor John Bartley, who led the city council while it was considering the project, said he thinks the new energy center will rival the importance of building the Kaw pipeline as it enhances Stillwater's economic development, safety and security.

"This is the single largest financial project the city has ever been involved in," he said.

The city will receive $4.3 million in payments annually from Grand River Dam Authority for having the capacity to generate power. That will provide enough revenue to cover payments on debt the city issued to build the plant. When the plant is called on to push power to the grid controlled by the Southwest Power Pool, the city will also receive reimbursement for its generation costs, GRDA CEO Dan Sullivan said. Its quick start ability and efficiency means it should be one of the first plants called upon.

"Holy Mackerel, we have done a lot and come a long way," Blankenship said.

The plant is expected to be up and running by July 2016.

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/stillwater-breaks-ground-on-new-power-plant/article_06d09114-26ad-11e5-b9a2-f7627081d7b1.html

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Coffeyville Groundbreaking Ceremony

October 8, 2015/in General Information /by Kent Balkenbusch

Wednesday was a momentous day for Coffeyville Municipal Light and Power (CMP&L) as local leaders, utility officials and dignitaries held a groundbreaking ceremony for Generation Facility No.2. Construction will officially begin October 12th and the new plant, located in the Coffeyville Industrial Park, is expected to be in operation by January 1, 2017.

The construction of the $58, 000,000 plant is the result of a power purchase and sale agreement with the Grand River Dam Authority. The contract led to an agreement to purchase and install 3 – 18.7 MW Wärtsilä generating units, which adds an additional 56 MW of generating capacity. Burns & McDonnell is the engineering firm for the project.

One of the significant benefits of the plant is the quick start capability of the new generators. Should Coffeyville experience a power loss, the new generators could be up and running, and restoring power to the city within 10 minutes. This is an exciting step forward for CMP&L, which has grown into one of the largest municipally owned utilities in Kansas, servicing over 60 square miles and over 6,300 customers. Construction of Generation Facility No.2, just adds to the rich legacy of CMP&L, which has been providing power since 1901.

http://kmea.com/coffeyville-groundbreaking-ceremony/

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The contract Grand River Dam Authority would have to be investigated and people from each project spoke with about financing and the economic value of the project. Things like selling excess electricity to TVA and many other things would have to be considered.

But this is just an idea ---- nothing more.
Especially if the only interest is wasting the money in the county coffers like a teenager with his first pay check. (not all teenagers)

We can learn from others.

[redcliffsw]

Government is not supposed to be using money for business purposes. 

I'm not seeing how government 'economic development' can be called an investment.

There's nothing to study for these kinds of ideas - our founders already made the decision.

Internal improvements is a yankee thing and never was intended for the uSA.

Tyranny.