Fuel cell site could boost Port Edwards
Port Edwards village leaders hope a proposed sustainable power plant would serve as a catalyst to thrust central Wisconsin into the spotlight of the nation’s green energy sector.
Officials continue to closely work with engineers from Ballard Power Systems, a Vancouver-based fuel cell producer, to study the feasibility of locating a fuel cell site in Port Edwards.
“A project of this size at this particular application would bring a lot of attention,” said Ethan Brown, Ballard Power’s director of business development. “Ideally, we would like to put a fuel cell plant here and help the state expand its use of sustainable energy.”
The facility would use hydrogen — a byproduct of a chemical process at ERCO Worldwide — to generate electricity for other green businesses and increase energy efficiency. While it would not necessarily add more than a handful of jobs, it would put Port Edwards on the map for the green industry sector, Brown said.
As part of the study, Ballard Power will work with ERCO and village leaders to determine whether such a project would benefit all involved. Currently ERCO uses all its excess hydrogen, either to make hydrochloric acid or to burn in its boilers to offset the price of natural gas, plant manager Geoff Bertin said previously.
Brown presented more details of Ballard Power’s operations to municipal and business leaders during a visit Wednesday to Wisconsin Rapids. He expected to meet today in Madison with staff members from the state’s Office of Energy Independence, which awarded Port Edwards a $50,000 grant in August to help fund the study.
Meanwhile, village leaders continue their efforts to search out parties interested in using the shutdown Domtar paper mill site, and company officials recently became more involved in the conversation, Port Edwards Village Administrator Joe Terry said.
“There has been no more information (about any potential plans for the mill), but they’ve been listening. That’s encouraging,” Terry said.
The village previously contracted with Madison-based consulting firm Vandewalle & Associates to develop a strategy for the possible reuse of the mill site. In working with Ballard Power, that strategy has now moved into the implementation phase.
“We really would like to get this (study) done by the end of the year,” said Peter Bach, an engineer for Ballard Power. “This will be a very cooperative effort that will go back and forth several times before it’s finished.”
