Gulf County considers biomass plant

Gulf County could soon be home to a new biomass plant. Biomass plants use things like dead trees, branches, yard clippings and wood chips as fuel to generate electricity. The Gulf County Commission and the Port St. Joe City Commission held a joint meeting Wednesday night to discuss the possibility of allowing the Georgia-based company Biomass Gas & Electric build a 200 million dollar plant on industrially zoned land on the Intracoastal Waterway. A number of Gulf County residents seem to be in favor of the project especially as a way to bring more employment to Gulf County. In recent years Gulf County has seen the closure of the St. Joe Paper mill and most recently the Arizona Chemical plant. Biomass Gas & Electric CEO and president Glenn Farris said the plant could offer a number of benefits to the area not just by creating jobs, but also through an expanded tax base and by bringing other industries into the county. The Gulf County Economic Development Council estimated the plant could have a 15 million dollar a year impact on Gulf County. There was also opposition to the plan; a group from Tallahassee who opposed a similar plant in Leon County said the amount of pollution and noise from the plant would not be worth the jobs it would create.