ROCKLAND — Evan Coleman, representative of Rockland Energy Center, answered questions about his company’s proposed natural gas power plant within city limits Tuesday, May 26, at City Hall. Each of Coleman’s three topics — fracking, power plant operations and safety, and power plant emissions and efficiency, were followed by questions and comments from concerned residents who filled the room at City Hall. Because this was not an official council meeting, all members of the council were in attendance, but sat in the audience.

Rockland Energy Company a subsidiary of Energy Management, Inc., a New England-based energy company, has developed six natural gas fired electric generation projects, and has expanded to offshore wind, biomass, and solar energy, according to its website, capewind.org.

Earlier this spring, REC approached the city council with an offer to build a combined heat and power plant in the city, but temporarily withdrew its formal proposal from the Public Utilities Commission, pending more information sessions with the public. Residents learned of REC’s proposal because of council’s offer to sell City Hall and Public Works properties, with REC being the only bidder.

When asked by a resident why the company chose a location near South School, playing fields, and bird sanctuary, Coleman said that the Pleasant Street location was the best option. According to Coleman, REC has looked at other sites around the city for its potential plant, including the waterfront.

“It came down to a number of different factors including size, and also ability to permit what would provide the greatest economic benefit to the city from a financial perspective, and lastly, what could we most easily fit the footprint of a power plant on while still accessing critical infrastructure,” Coleman said.

That critical infrastructure includes the Park Street substation, having a gas line to the facility, and an electrical line over the substation.

The natural gas lines would run underground through the city streets with more pipelines connected below ground to the homeowners who choose to buy natural gas from the company. For the first 10 to 12 years after the pipelines have been installed, the city will not be able to reconstruct those roads without the permission of the plant.

According to Coleman, older plants are retiring and new plants are necessary. Power plants have a life span of 50 to 60 years, and a relevant life span of 30 to 40 years, he said.

At the end of that time, the burden of demolishing or repurposing the plant falls on the owner. No money is expected to be paid by the taxpayers for any aspect of REC’s business venture. According to Coleman, REC will request tax increment financing from Rockland that would freeze, and guarantee, a non-fluctuating tax payment despite depreciation of goods and services, for the duration of the TIF contract.

REC would bring an estimated $500,000 per year in tax revenue to the city, he said.

“This area has some great issues that this plant may help to alleviate.... But also, it’s a heavy oil-using region of the state of Maine. It’s also a higher income area in Maine, and I’m not going to lie to you, it’s proven time and time again that higher income areas typically have higher conversion rates to natural gas.”

Water usage, waste and environmental considerations

The plants typically use a gray water cooling system that would require approximately 300,000 to 400,000 gallons on water per day. Gray water is water that is not fully cleaned, and not as efficient to the cooling process as drinkable water. The stormwater, which now flows into the sewer and therefore adds to the volume entering the city’s wastewater treatment plant, would be diverted to the natural gas plant’s own treatment plant and used for its cooling needs, he suggested.

Any waste not burned off into the air would go into a specialized landfill, according to Coleman, who attempted to alleviate concerns about carcinogens, chemicals, environmental noise and light pollution, and fracking. He spoke of gas-guzzling automobiles, coal use, and other daily activities that already contribute to environmental problems.

When faced with references by the audience, of Exxon Valdez and British Petroleum’s spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Coleman said: “Having a bad reputation for an accident does cost a lot of money.... They do really look at many good companies, and there are bad companies out there in every single industry. But those who are responsible, do a good job, do truly care.”

When a resident spoke of a power plant in Dartmouth, Mass., as being on the outskirts of the municipality, and that some residents there didn’t even know the plant existed, Coleman credited that as good, saying the plant is next to a prison and not completely out of the public way.

“A guy outside with a lawnmower makes more noise than the gas plant,” said Coleman.

Coleman said that the biggest noise maker is the gas turbine.

“You can imagine a jet engine in a contained space firing 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Coleman, clarifying that this turbine will not actually sound like a jet engine. He then described a structure around the turbine that consists of a steel frame, sheet rock, followed by multiple layers of insulation and more sheet rock.  

Though the plant will be operated round-the-clock, lighting is not required, and therefore would be kept to a minimum.

As for fracking, Mayor Frank Isganitis said: “We’re not talking about fracking here. We’re not talking about fracking in the community. What’s important to us, I think as council, and as community members, and leaders together to understand. If we go home and we plug in our device, or we turn on a light switch... it’s coming from a frack source.

“If we, as a community, come to a core value that we don’t want to add to the consumption that would lead to a rise in fracking, that’s OK.”

Isganitis urged the community to let the Council know if they couldn’t live with the knowledge that fracking used to generate natural gas for Rockland. 

Councilor Larry Pritchett, who moderated the forum, said that there will be three more public forums. In late July or August, the City plans to have other people speak about concerns with asthma, how the DEP, or other regulatory agencies, handle particulars. In early fall, EMI may present on how the facility will look like if built here.

Pritchett said that before the plant can more forward, there will need to be site, air, and stormwater approval from the DEP, as well as a land-use permit from the City planning board. 

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Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com.