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Chicken Waste Energy Plant Approved in Sussex County

elizabeth prata
/
creative commons

The Sussex County Council has unanimously approved plans for a renewable energy plant on an empty field just outside of Georgetown.

The Salisbury Daily Times reports that the facility will be able to recycle up to 90-thousand tons of chicken waste a year.

CleanBay Renewables LLC wants to turn the chicken waste into electricity as part of an effort to reduce the amount of phosphorous going into the Chesapeake Bay and its waterways.

The company says the project is expected to cost around $60 million and produce 5 megawatts of electricity that could provide power for an estimated 35-hundred homes.

The ordinance for the project was amended to prohibit an entrance to the facility on Breasure Road to deal with traffic concerns by local residents.

The company expects to begin construction of the plant next year adding 15 full-time employees.

The company also expects to look for more plant sites in the region. 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.