County looks into alternative energy site near CIT and new jail

CHENANGO COUNTY – More than 200 acres near the Chenango County Correctional Facility may or may not be a good site for alternative energy production – but Norwich resident Todd Dreyer was given permission to find out.

Dreyer, who is also the City of Norwich Planning Director, went before the county’s Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds Committee requesting permission to examine – on a volunteer basis – the possibility of siting a wood-chip burning facility on 223 acres of county-owned land that sits next to the Valley Ridge CIT and across from the new jail. Dreyer gave no projections or predictions for a concrete project, but believes the possibility of heating both county facilities with a renewable and abundant resource, like wood, is worth a closer look.

“I have no delusions. Perhaps this might not be the right use, perhaps this property may have a better use,” said Dreyer, acknowledging that selling the property, as it has been recently discussed, may turn out to be a better route. “It (alternative energy) might – in the long run – provide more return for the county.”

The committee pointed out the practical sense of a wood-chip burner in theory, considering the amount of marginal timber in the area and the instances of downed trees, such as those from Monday’s snow storm.