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Date Posted: 15:03:16 10/18/01 Thu
Author: Ed Valis
Subject: Nickel Hill Update

Here is an update on Nickel Hill from the Lowell Sun!

Ed :=)

Power may be back on at Dracut's Nickel Hill site
By KATHLEEN DEELY
Sun Staff


Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - DRACUT -- By this time next week, power may be restored at the defunct Nickel Hill Energy project.

An electricity generating company eyeing the East Dracut power plant met with Town Manager Dennis Piendak yesterday and will make a decision within a week on whether to go forward.

Piendak described the two-hour talk with the international company, which is remaining anonymous for now, as positive, hinting that it is a serious buyer.

Piendak would not say where the company is located, but if the company builds a plant in Dracut, it would be its first Massachusetts venture, he said.

"I feel very positive coming out of meeting that the Nickel Hill project is going forward," said Piendak, who warned that the company and Nickel Hill have not reached a full agreement.

In May, Constellation Power, Nickel Hill's parent company, called off development of the 750-megawatt plant, stating that the New England market is too risky for multimillion-dollar ventures.

The natural-gas-fired facility, slated to be constructed on 25 acres on the Brox Industry quarry, was to usher in a $70 million in-lieu-of-taxes payment over 20 years. Nickel Hill was also expected to generate another $11 million in local spending during construction.

Nickel Hill has met opposition from neighbors, who fear it will introduce possible health hazards. Proponents maintain that the $400 million project would help fuel the town's economy.

"It's without question an important development and one that the board will be anxiously awaiting further information on," Selectman Warren Shaw said.

If a new company takes over, selectmen will have to vote to transfer the permits from Constellation Power, Shaw said.

"Truth is, we do not know at this point who this company is or what their intentions are," he said. "I'm not reacting positively or negatively because it's an ongoing situation."

If the state and local permits are transferred, the interested company will be obligated to all terms of the $70 million payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, said Shaw.

A Supreme Court decision on the plant's Energy Facilities Siting Board permit is still pending. If the court rules in favor of Merrimack Valley Residents for the Environment's appeal, the company will need to reapply for the permit.

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