New zoning gives green light to ‘green’ energy plant
POTTSTOWN » After a public hearing at which no one from the public spoke, the borough council voted unanimously June 10 to approve a new overlay zoning district along Keystone Boulevard.
The overlay will allow for construction of a new $142 million green energy plant that will convert cellulose into diesel fuel and will bring 68 jobs to the borough.
The site is located on 10.33 acres at 451 Keystone Blvd., along the border with West Pottsgrove.
When up and running, the plant would generate $39,000 a year in wage taxes for Pottstown, along with about $551,000 in property taxes.
Construction, which would begin in June, 2021 according to the schedule, would take 18 months and employ 174 construction workers.
An agreement between the developer, SEP-1, and the borough would result in a $5 fee per truck, which is estimated to generate $90,000 to $100,000 a year to be added to the street maintenance budget.
Under the terms of the agreement, SEP-1 will contribute $625,000 toward the cost of extending Keystone Boulevard through West Pottsgrove to its long-planned connection to the Grosstown Road interchange with Route 422.
The cost of that extension is currently estimated at about $5.2 million.
The entire project was brought as the result of the special planning area along the river — called the Keystone Employment and Economic Plan, or KEEP — to which both
Pottstown and West Pottsgrove Township belong.