Coal-to-liquid fuel plan receives $500,000 grant

By D.a. Wilkinson

The money will secure options to buy land for the facility.

WELLSVILLE — The Baard Energy plan to turn coal into liquid fuel received a $500,000 grant in time for the holidays.

State Rep. Linda Bolon announced that the Columbiana County Port Authority will receive the grant from the Ohio Department of Development’s Job Ready Sites program.

“While this is a phase of a lengthy process, it is especially encouraging in these tough economic times to see the state support a project that has the potential to stimulate our local economy and bring jobs to the area,” Bolon, of Columbiana, D-1st, said Tuesday in a press release.

Tracy Drake, port authority chief executive officer, said the money “will extend options to hold onto the property.”

Baard Energy wants to build the proposed facility off state Route 7 in Wellsville.

At least one landowner at the site reportedly was threatening to pull out of the plan unless his option extension was approved.

Drake said with the extra funding, the options may increase by about 25 percent. But they should hold the rights to the property until negotiations are completed.

The state’s Job Ready Sites program is a grant-based program that began in 2006 and is funded by bond proceeds to be awarded over a seven-year period.

Drake estimated the cost of purchasing land at the site to ultimately be about $6 million.

The site is currently a hill that will have to be leveled. That could take a year to accomplish if work begins next year.

Drake said he thanked Gov. Ted Strickland and ODOD for their help with the funding. He also thanked Bolon, U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th, and state Sen. Jason Wilson of Columbiana, D-30th, for their help with the funding.

The project is expected to pump $5.5 billion to $6 billion in construction costs into the southern portion of the county over five years. That will include thousands of construction jobs.

The project would need about 225 full-time workers with at least an associate degree.

wilkinson@vindy.com