Jeff Sinyard: Biomass plant in Dougherty County catalyst for positive change

ALBANY — It makes sense that Jeff Sinyard would have a better grasp of what the $200 million biomass plant under construction on the Procter & Gamble Albany campus means to Albany and Southwest Georgia.

In his roles as chairman of both the Dougherty County Commission and the Albany-Dougherty Payroll Development Authority, Sinyard saw the project progress from concept to full-blown plan to, now, reality.

Sinyard is no longer chair of either board that played key rolls in bringing the biomass plant to life. He gave up those responsibilities when he decided to end his tenure in elected office at the end of 2014. But if anyone outside the offices of P&G and its partner in the construction and operation of the plant, Constellation Energy, understands the significance of the facility, it’s Sinyard.

And the long-time public servant is as effusive in his praise of the biomass plant now as he was during the long process that took it from the drawing board to actually moving dirt at the site.

“I don’t know if people realize the true impact that biomass plant will have on Albany and Southwest Georgia,” Sinyard, owner of Adams Pest Control, said. “This project will be the catalyst for positive change in our region for years to come. And it’s more than just the sustainability of thousands of jobs in our region.

“This project is going to do something special for the P&G plant and its corporate footprint, but it’s also going to put Albany on the map. This will be the 10th-largest biomass plant in the nation, and I guarantee you it’s going to change the perception many people have about our region. It’s going to put us in position to bring new jobs here.”

The Payroll Development Authority worked with P&G and Constellation Energy to pave the way for the biomass plant, which will create up to 50 megawatts annually of clean energy fueled by waste wood and farm products. The authority’s issuance of a $250 million bond on Dec. 4, which came after regulatory clearance from the state Public Service Commission, was pretty much the last hoop that had to be jumped through for the greenlighting of the project.

In addition to supplying up to 70 percent of the energy at the Albany P&G plant, which manufactures Bounty paper towels and Charmin bathroom tissue, the biomass plant will also supply up to 385,000 megawatt hours of electricity for Georgia Power.

Constellation is also currently in talks with Department of Defense officials about supplying clean energy for nearby Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany. If the federal government gives the go-ahead for a Constellation-MCLB-Albany partnership, the base could become the first DOD facility to achieve net-zero energy efficiency.

Sinyard says that would be another huge plus for the region, strengthening the base’s ties to the community when and if Base Realignment and Closure talks resurface.

“People don’t understand, but BRAC is coming again,” Sinyard said. “It may be in ‘16, ‘17, ‘18 or just cutbacks at any time, but as the world’s situation changes, our military needs will change. Our base is uniquely situated — next to the county’s landfill and the P&G plant — so that, with the landfill gas-to-energy project that now supplies 40 percent of its energy and potentially clean energy from the biomass plant, it could become the nation’s first net-zero installation.

“What that would do is strengthen the 5,000 or so jobs at the base which, with the 1,000 to 1,100 jobs at P&G and the new industry of supplying materials to run the biomass plant, would impact more than 6,000 jobs in our region. Plus, people would look on Albany and Southwest Georgia as a national leader in producing clean energy.”

Mike Montondo, the superintendent overseeing the EPC (Engineering/Procurement/Construction) phase of the biomass plant, said Friday the plan is to have the project done by the summer of 2017.

“The boiler is actually going to sit on the site of the (current) contractor parking lot (at the northern-most sector of the P&G campus),” Montondo, who lives in Pennsylvania but works with a company out of Mays Landing, N.J., said. “So the first thing we have to do is build a new contractor lot (east of the current lot). When we finish that part of the project, we’ll strip the (current) parking lot. We expect to be driving piles by July.

“We’re clearing land (even farther north of the boiler site) for construction parking during the project, and Georgia Power is in the process of relocating power lines. The project is moving along nicely.”

The biomass plant is part of a corporate-wide green initiative through which Procter & Gamble hopes to supply 30 percent of its energy utilizing renewable sources by 2020.

“This whole process is pretty amazing,” Sinyard said. “Seven years ago, we started talking about a gas-to-energy project at the base, and now they get 40 percent of their energy from a landfill waste product. Talk about the biomass plant started two or three years ago, and now they’re moving dirt out there.

“The people of Albany and Southwest Georgia should be so proud of these projects. They came about from people with positive attitudes working together to make them happen. Now our job prospects are enhanced because one thing that’s a certainty is that success breeds success.”