[ad_1]
In three to five years, converting coal into carbon products is projected to jump from the current $10-billion-a-year industry to a $100-billion-a-year industry – and Wyoming County could play a significant role in the market.
Currently, China has about 75 percent of the global market because it has the most coke ovens, Dave Berry, AmeriCarbon Products’ CEO, told a small group of stakeholders at Barkers Creek Industrial Park Wednesday morning.
AmeriCarbon Products plans to build the United States’ first coal-to-carbon processing plant of its kind in the new $7 million industrial park, located near Mullens.
The Wyoming County Economic Development Authority (EDA) brought together the government agencies and utility company representatives who will be involved in finalizing the development and building construction on the park.
“We needed to bring everybody together so they can talk face-to-face,” said Mike Goode, county EDA chairman.
AmeriCarbon wants to take advantage of West Virginia’s significant bituminous coal resources, which is best for the carbon process, and use it for something besides power, Berry said.
“West Virginia could be at the hub of the global market,” he said.
The eco-friendly process can change the characterization of coal tar pitch and tailor it for such products as carbon fiber, structural panels for radar absorbers, graphite and carbon electrodes, lithium batteries, along with conductive and insulating foams.
Coal-tar pitch is a thick, black liquid which remains after the distillation of coal tar. It is used in asphalt products, coatings, some paints, roofing materials, paving, among other products.
Opening the plant is not something that is going to happen overnight, Goode emphasized.
However, once the plant is completed, AmeriCarbon is expected to create about 40 jobs to begin.
The project is in the design phase – designing three shell buildings, planning where the buildings will be located, as well as where utilities need to be placed, among numerous other details.
It could be as long as 36 months before the plant is fully operational, according to officials.
The final design will also include room for future expansion, noted Monty Butcher, CDI Engineering Solutions senior project manager.
“The shell building construction project consists of a 20,000 square foot building, a 5,280 square foot building, and a 1,800 square foot building with associated site work,” explained Eric Combs, Region I Planning and Development Council project manager/GIS specialist.
“Project elements include a roadway, parking, landscaping, site utilities, architectural, HVAC, fire protection and appurtenances,” Combs said.
One building will be used as a carbon manufacturing facility, another will be used as a coal prep facility, and the third structure will house a lab and office space, according to Christy Laxton, county EDA director.
Funding for the $4.8 million shell building project includes a $3.9 million U.S. Economic Development Administration American Rescue Plan Act Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant, a $200,000 Wyoming County Commission grant, a $100,000 Wyoming County EDA Grant, and a $675,000 West Virginia Department of Economic Development Governor’s Closing Fund Grant.
Additionally, the project is awaiting the Notice to Proceed per the grant funding and environmental clearance for construction on the property, Combs noted.
AmeriCarbon will generate another $85 million in private investment in the industrial park.
Once operational, the plant will process from 100 to 200 tons of coal a day, Berry said, and operate around the clock, seven days a week, using three shifts.
Berry said AmeriCarbon is also designing their own processing equipment that will be moved into the plant.
The industrial park is the property of the county EDA, Laxton explained, and AmeriCarbon will lease the property.
The company will need the space. of the entire park, Berry said.
AmeriCarbon Products is headquartered in Morgantown, where the company has its research and development facility.
As the company grows in Wyoming County, the total number of jobs is estimated to increase to about 70.
The average pay for the jobs will range from $50,000 to $75,000 in addition to benefits, Laxton said.
Management positions will pay about $120,000.
Located between Mullens and Herndon, the 10.85-acre industrial park stretches between the Norfolk Southern Railroad and Barkers Creek, just off W.Va. Rt. 10.
The former Lusk Lumber site, the county EDA purchased the property in 2011.
The industrial park has water and sewer on site and is not located within the floodplain, according to officials.
Environmental remediation site work was completed with a $200,000 federal Brownfields Assessment Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Laxton said the industrial park was marketed by using three-dimensional designs to show what it could look like.
With the brownfields work completed, officials were able to “hit the ground running” when contacted by the company, Laxton noted.
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito met with county Economic Development Authority members and other officials during a one-hour visit in April.
Through “Congressionally Directed Spending” items, previously known as budget earmarks, Capito has provided $850,000 for a new access bridge for the industrial park, along with $835,000 to improve and increase the electrical power at the park.
The current bridge access for the industrial park has severe weight restrictions, Laxton said.
The industrial park will have two access points when completed, Combs said.
[ad_2]
Source link