Delay to allow electric infrastructure to catch up locally
In the wake of an announcement last week by Synergen Green Energy Inc. that it was temporarily pausing development activities on the planned ammonia plant project on Highway 34 west of Aurora, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved the withdrawal by Synergen of its conditional use permit (CUP) application for the project.
Acting on one of the first items of business at the weekly meeting, the commission approved the withdrawal in a unanimous vote.
Kelsey Bergen, executive director of the Aurora Development Corporation, who has been a regular attender at the board’s meetings for the past several months, told the commissioners that Nebraska Public Power District officials are concerned that infrastructure to provide the electrical load needed by the plant may not be available now until 2029.
According to company officials the project will remain paused while Synergen leadership continues to work with local officials to solidify key components of the project — including potential delays in its ability to gain access to public power.
“Pausing the permitting process does not mean we are leaving the Aurora community,” said John Hewitt, Synergen vice president of project development. “Out of respect for the Hamilton County residents and community leaders, it is paramount that we work with local officials to resolve any issues that have come to light before proceeding further with permitting the plant. Synergen will withdraw its pending application for a conditional use permit until ready to proceed further.”
The conditional use permit (CUP) application for the plant received a negative recommendation in March at the end of a three-hour meeting of the county’s Joint Planning and Zoning Commission, during which numerous local residents raised concerns about the plant’s water usage and questioned whether the plant would have a negative impact on the local power grid and electrical rates.
The county commission had been delaying the setting of a hearing date for the CUP to come before the board, which has the final say on such applications. Members of the board said they wanted to wait to decide on the application until it was clear that the Upper Big Blue NRD was going to continue to support the large water use permit it had approved for the project in November.
At Monday’s meeting, county officials said that if Synergen decides to restart the project in the future, it would have to reapply for the CUP and essentially start the process over.
In a news release Synergen said that in addition to creating approximately 65 new, permanent jobs, the ammonia plant would contribute more than $50 million in property tax revenue over a 30-year period — with more than 70 percent of this amount allocated to Aurora Public Schools. It said the plant would also be poised to put a 600-metric-ton dent in Midwestern ammonia imports, which total more than a million tons annually from the Middle East, Russia and Trinidad.
“We look forward to continuing our work with Synergen and other organizations,” Bergen said following the announcement. “ADC is uniquely positioned to lead the important conversation around opportunities for Aurora to grow and welcome new families while empowering the agriculture community to prosper.”