(Fairmont, Mn.)– A leading European energy services company wants to make Fairmont a model for the midwest by investing 120 to 130 million dollars in a biomass energy plant.
The Fairmont Energy Center would be owned by Veolia Energy, a unit of French utility Veolia Environment. It would start operating in 2011 if all goes according to plan.
The Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency would buy the electricity produced at the plant.
The biomass would come from a variety of sources, including refuse-derived fuel, which is processed trash, such as papers and plastics. The plant will not burn raw garbage.
By locating in Fairmont, Veolia says it hopes to establish itself in the midwest, showcase the new facility and encourage more biomass energy facilities in the region.
(Story from the Associated Press.).
