GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (From news reports) -- Efforts are under way to revitalize the former International Paper mill site in Georgetown County, which closed at the end of last year, leaving more than 600 employees jobless and impacting hundreds of families and businesses.
Senator Stephen Goldfinch, who is leading the initiative, said the most promising prospect for the site is a biomass plant.
"What they would have to do if they wanted to turn it into something other than an industrial site would be astronomical. So my understanding from all the parties is the only offer right now that makes sense is the offer of the developer that's pursuing the biomass plant," Goldfinch said.
The biomass plant would generate energy from tree waste, similar to the operations previously conducted at the paper mill.
"Whatever waste you get out of the tree is what they use to burn and fire the boilers, and the boilers produce power," Goldfinch explained. "This would be adding additional boilers and producing power to sell back to the grid."
Goldfinch said the power generated would be supplied to Santee Cooper.
Terry Johnson, a longtime resident of Georgetown County, expressed hope for the community's recovery.
"When the mill closed, it hurt our whole community," Johnson said. "It's like a domino effect. When that plant closed, guys, the money they got from there that was going into our community, there was no more. So now business hurts."
Goldfinch emphasized the potential economic benefits of the biomass plant, which could involve an investment of nearly $4 billion and the creation of hundreds of jobs.
"There's also other industry the developers who are trying to recruit for the plant site so I mean 400 for 500 jobs just for the biomass site is what I'm being told. And then they're trying to recruit another three or so industries for that site so another 4 or 500 jobs," he said.
Goldfinch said he's cautiously optimistic, and he thinks having a biomass plant could be even bigger for the community than International Paper was.
