A proposed $800 million electrical power plant in Lordstown got one step closer to reality at a public meeting this week in the village. The project could mean significant electrical work for NECA-IBEW Electricians during construction.
Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future LLC identified a 36-acre industrial-zoned parcel on Henn Parkway in the Lordstown Industrial Park, and is now 90 percent of the way toward a September 2015 groundbreaking for a natural gas-fueled electrical generating plant, the company’s president said.
An earlier-chosen site on Salt Springs Road in Lordstown would have needed a zoning change, and village residents resisted. The Henn Parkway site faced no opposition at the meeting.
With the company’s commitment to use union labor to build the facility using roughly 550 seasonal construction workers among the various trades, NECA-IBEW Electricians members are excited about the prospects.
“We’re looking at a three-year construction phase, with ongoing maintenance and upgrades likely for us after it’s completed,” said Jack Morse, business manager, IBEW Local 573 in Warren, of potential steady work for local union electrical contractors and IBEW members. “Beyond that, the facility could bring spin-off work from companies that will locate near here to support the facility.”
A Clean Energy Future timeline projects the facility to be operational in May 2018.