Officials say $160 million power plant slated for Georgia

BARNESVILLE, Ga. - Officials in Lamar County say a $160 million plant will produce electricity from biomass and create up to 25 jobs and a payroll of up to $1.5 million.

The officials said Monday that Rollcast Energy Inc. has chosen to locate the plant on about 60,000 square feet in the middle Georgia county, in a forested area that will produce a buffer, The Herald-Gazette of Barnesville reported.

The plant will burn wood waste from logging, land-clearing operations and other sources to heat a boiler and create steam to produce almost 50 megawatts of electricity enough for 40,000 homes to be sold to a utility company.

The plant, known as Piedmont Renewable Power, will use 700,000 gallons a day of gray water from Barnesville's sewage treatment plant for cooling purposes.