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| Hydro-plant would pump money into Sparta |
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Herald staff report
SPARTA – What might be the largest investment in Sussex County in decades was at one point referred to as just “a hole in the ground.”
Riverbank Power Corp-oration, a Canadian firm, recently struck an agreement with Sparta Township, to explore the possibility of constructing a $2 billion hydroelectric plant at Limecrest Quarry. If planned drilling tests are successful and necessary permits are approved, the mammoth construction project could begin mid-year.
Riverbank estimates the project would create about 1,000 jobs during the construction phase and 50-75 permanent jobs once the project is operational, now projected to be in 2015.
The concept is to generate power by running falling water through enormous turbines during peak hours. The water would be held in an underground reservoir, and pumped back up to the surface in off-peak hours to repeat the process.
The township purchased the quarry in August 2007 for $2.45 million after a legal challenge from the quarry’s lessee, Limecrest Quarry Developers, which also was interested in purchasing the property. Late last year, the town renegotiated and extended its lease with the quarry’s operators. Then, just last month, that all changed when the township announced, in cooperation with Limecrest Quarry Developers, that they were pursuing a deal to allow Riverbank to construct a hydro-electric plant.
Township officials said the preliminary deal could mean as much as $5 million annual revenue to the township in rent and taxes. Limecrest Developers also stand to receive about $500,000 per year.
Created: 2/14/2009 | Updated: 2/15/2009
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