NOVEC and Novi begin initial construction work

Not-for-profit Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) and Michigan-based energy services company Novi Company have been given the go-ahead to start preliminary construction work on its biomass-fired power plant.

Proposed for South Boston in Virginia, the US, the $175 million (€129 million) plant will convert between 250,000 and 500,000 tonnes a year of forest slash into 50MW of renewable energy. Completion of the plant is expected in 2013.

The project has received a lot of supporters recently, following a public hearing before the Virginia State Corporation Commission. Unemployment rate in the region stands at over 11%. Between 300 and 400 construction jobs will be created at the site, in addition to 40 full-time positions when the facility is up and running.

'The project will create a unique tie among the members of NOVEC, the residents of South Boston and those of Halifax County – a unique model that has the potential for the rest of the commonwealth,' says Mike Dailey, VP of business development at NOVEC. 'Right now it looks like a win-win-win for everyone.'