Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc.(fka LLEG)

[rich sears]

BERLIN — Clean Power Development appears before both the zoning and planning boards this week as it seeks to wrap up local approval for its proposed biomass plant. The Concord-based firm is proposing to build a 22-27 megawatt biomass plant south of the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Company President Mel Liston said Clean Power has retained its position in the ISO New England interconnection queue. Last month, ISO-NE informed Clean Power it was withdrawing its interconnection request because the company had not responded to ISO-NE’s request for additional data for the Berlin project. Clean Power had 15 business days to provide the information to retain its position in the queue. Liston yesterday said Clean Power complied before the March 10 deadline and provided confi rmation of that fact from ISO-NE. “We are definitely still in the queue,” he said. Clean Power is currently second in the queue in Coos County behind the Granite Reliable Power’s proposed 99-megawatt wind farm project. Clean Power is ahead of Laidlaw Environmental the company proposing a 66-megawatt biomass plant in Berlin. Position in the queue is important because the current Coos transmission loop has limited capacity to accept additional generation. Clean Power submitted its site plan application to the planning board in January. The board tabled the application and requested Clean Power obtain four necessary special exceptions from the zoning board – for stack and fence height, number of parking spaces, and renewable energy projects. The zoning board sought a peer review of Clean Power’s wood study under the renewable energy exception. Sarah Smith, professor/specialist, Forest Industry for UNH Cooperative Extension, conducted the review. Clean Power is set to return to the zoning board Wednesday night on its request for the four special exceptions. The following night, it will go back to the planning board to complete its site plan application. The company hopes to have all its necessary local and state permits in hand to allow it to break ground on the plant this spring with a target date of December 2010 to be in operation.

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/BerlinPDF/2009/3/10B.pdf