HGS Helps Secure Air Permit for New Biomass Power Plant

HGS client, Rentech, Inc., has secured a final air construction permit for its proposed 55-megawatt biomass power plant in Port St. Joe, Florida.  The power plant will utilize a combined cycle gas turbine system fueled by product gas produced through an advanced biomass gasification process.  A group led by a Massachusetts-based anti-biomass organization challenged Rentech’s air construction permit, filing a petition for a formal administrative hearing with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  However, HGS successfully prepared to defend the permit from the opposition’s challenge and shortly before the start of the scheduled administrative hearing, the opposition group withdrew its petition clearing the way for DEP to issue a final permit.  The 30-day appeal period that followed DEP’s issuance of the final permit passed without incident on July 11, 2011.  Rentech was represented in this permitting effort by a team of HGS attorneys including Doug Roberts, Angela Morrison, Brooke Lewis, and Joe Brown.   

Construction of the project will create approximately 200 jobs.  Plant operations will create 25 jobs at the plant and an additional 150 new jobs in the biomass supply chain.

(click here http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/5652/rentechundefineds-florida-biomass-power-plant-has-final-air-permit to view an article in Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine concerning Rentech’s Port St. Joe project)

(click here http://www.floridadep.org/air/emission/bioenergy/northwest_renewable/NWFREC_FPermit.pdf to view a copy of the final permit)