Notes from the Mayor November 1st is the beginning of a new relationship for Quitman and Clarke County with Solvay Energy Division. Solvay and New Biomass Energy formed a new Company, Solvay Biomass Energy, with Solvay being the majority owner. Expansion construction has been completed and production is slated to start by the end of November. Solvay and New Biomass Energy were attracted to Quitman because of the huge timber reserves located in Clarke County. The new Company is a global unit of the Solvay Group, an International Chemical Group specializing in products protecting the environment to automotive, aerospace, electricity, and electronics. Their stated goal is to raise the performance of its clients, improvement in quality of life, and creating a sustainable solution for our energy needs. The work of our Economic Development team including the Board of Supervisors and Board of Aldermen helped land this International Company, but if you read a quote from the President of Solvay Energy Services our work is just beginning. Philippe Rosier, President of Solvay Energy Services, said “This new business has a two-fold objective: on the one hand, to offer innovative and competitive solutions to utilities and energy companies, allowing them to lower the cost of using biomass in their plants, and in parallel to expand our access to biomass and to create new bio sourced applications”. Timber and what can be made from it varies from ethanol, to chemicals, and jet fuel. A new use for timber comes from the development of nanocellulose, which is made from the cellulose in trees combined with algae. You can google nanocellulose and find several important applications; one being body armor and another being foam products that can support 10,000 times their own weight. The path in preparing for Solvay and future Industrial Investment is clear. Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption. That cost to get a product to its destination is critical and we are moving to make our City and County the lowest logistical cost provider possible. With the projected flow of seventy trucks daily coming from the Industrial Park with engines idling waiting to turn onto Highway 145 logistical costs are increased. For this reason, the $400,000 Grant I requested was approved to create a turn lane onto and off of Hickory Avenue to create easier access. My recent trip to the Capital requesting approval to sell Natural Gas for use in transportation will save millions in fuel costs and would make us a more attractive logistical City. Finally, the rail from Waynesboro to Lucedale, when completed, will make us even more competitive. I wholeheartedly support this effort.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 00:04:20 +0000
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