Environment | Opinion

Editorial: Oneida Nation addresses concerns over energy plant

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

"Oneida Seven Generations Corp. made the right choice in shifting its site plan for a gasification plant away from Ashwaubenon, where some neighbors opposed the biomass facility's location.

Kevin Cornelius, CEO of Oneida Seven Generations, told the Green Bay Press-Gazette on Friday that the $23 million waste-to-energy plant would be built on land it owns at 1230 Hurlbut St., Green Bay, provided it secures required permits from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Relocating from the 3100 block of Packerland Drive may be the best solution for the renewable energy project, given the opposition in Ashwaubenon. The original site, located on tribal land and zoned light industrial, was problematic from the beginning for Oneida Seven Generations, a subsidiary of the Oneida Tribe of Indians.

The corporation broke ground last fall to make way for a 60,000-square-foot biomass plant, designed to convert an estimated 150 tons of municipal waste per day into power to be sold to Wisconsin Public Service. The project was delayed, however, after Oneida Seven Generations agreed in November to move the project back 700 feet to accommodate a request by Schneider National, a neighboring business. Construction since has stalled, pending necessary federal approval."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Move of gasification plant best for all (The Green Bay Press-Gazette 2/22)

Also Today:
Oneida biomass gasification plant gets conditional-use permit (The Green Bay Press-Gazette 2/22)
Oneidas pick new site for biomass gasification plant (The Green Bay Press-Gazette 2/19)