Seminole Electric evaluates options after county denies comp plan amendments

By Dave Szymanski

The Gilchrist County Commission voted August 2nd not to approve an amendment to its Comprehensive Plan that would have allowed Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc. to propose future natural gas simple or combined-cycle gas-fired electric power units, as well as renewable energy projects, on its 520-acre Gilchrist site.
The Commission’s decision came after it had voted last year to send the proposed amendment to the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for review and comment. Working with the DCA, the Suwannee River Water Management District and Gilchrist County staff, Seminole was confident it could develop the site and be responsive to environmental protection considerations, also complying with stringent conditions contained in the amendment.
“To say we are disappointed would be a big understatement,” said Michael Opalinski, Seminole’s senior vice president of strategic services. “The action of the Commission doesn’t allow us the opportunity to propose a specific project on our site that would meet or exceed the requirements proposed in the amendment.
“We are confident that given the opportunity, we would have developed a project that was sensitive to property owners; protected the environment, water supply and surface waters; and provided jobs and millions of dollars of tax revenues,” Opalinski added.
Opalinski noted that the Cooperative is considering its options, which include looking at other Florida counties to develop future power generation projects that were to be at the Gilchrist site.
“We fully expect that Florida will begin to grow again and, as in the past, we expect much of this growth to occur in rural areas of the state,” Opalinski said. “We have to be in a position to respond to this need for additional supplies of reliable and affordable energy.”
“Having site locations where state-of-the-art facilities can be developed is essential to being prepared for the future and keeping electric rates affordable,” he added.
For more information, visit Seminole’s website at www.seminole-electric.com