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Promising ‘green’ Indiana town struggling with hope

By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

REYNOLDS, Ind. — It was supposed to become a showcase community, a cutting-edge example of how small, rural towns in Indiana and across the country could achieve energy independence and a sustainable future.

But, more than four years after the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) declared Reynolds “BioTown, USA,” most of the grand plans for this town of 500-plus residents have yet to leave the drawing table. State and local officials say the economy is to blame for stalling the ambitious venture.

“The project is still there, but with the economy the way it is, it’s changed shape a little bit,” said Eric Burch, director of policy outreach at the Indiana Office of Energy Development. “Whether the project is finished or not, the true success is that we’ve been able to bring the concept of renewable energy to a wide variety of people.”

The centerpiece of BioTown was supposed to be the Technology Suite, a privately funded facility that would convert municipal and agricultural waste to electricity, fertilizers, thermal energy and biodiesel. But after a high-profile groundbreaking in March 2007 the original investor, Rose Energy Discovery, backed out of the project.

A second investor, Energy Systems Group, stepped up and decided to build the facility but got cold feet when the economy turned for the worse.

“It was an unfortunate thing, but nobody blames them for making a business decision that made sense,” Burch said.

After the Technology Suite failed and other planned investments in Reynolds didn’t materialize, the initial enthusiasm for the project among the locals started to fizzle. Some felt the state had walked out on them, even though that’s not true, according to Charlie Van Voorst, Reynold’s town board president and one of BioTown’s staunchest supporters.

“Everybody was let down, but you can’t blame anybody. It was the economy. It ruined a lot of things for a lot of people,” he said. “We’re walking a little more cautiously now because we’ve had two supporters back out.”

The ISDA has taken down its BioTown website and handed over leadership of the project to local officials, but Burch said the state is still involved.

“The vision still exists, and we still partner with them (the locals) in any way we can,” he said. “As the economy improves, we hope that other partners will be interested in supporting this type of multifaceted approach to meeting Indiana’s energy needs.”

Still, the project is showing some tangible signs of success. The local BP station was transformed into a BioIsland that sells E85 ethanol and B20 biodiesel along with regular gas. And the prevalence of flex-fuel vehicles is arguably among the highest in the nation, after General Motors did a special giveaway and offered residents steep discounts on some of its vehicles.

The town is also working on replacing its aging sewage plant with a cutting-edge facility that treats wastewater with algae. The algae wheel technology requires less electricity to run than conventional sewage plants. Too, the biomass that results from the process can be used to produce a “significant amount of renewable energy,” according to Indianapolis-based Algaewheel, which spearheaded the technology and is building the facility in Reynolds.

Van Voorst said the algae wheel will enable Reynolds to keep its sewage costs down, while reducing its environmental footprint. He expects the facility to be operational by the end of November, and a second phase of the project could include accepting enough sludge from other cities to make biodiesel from the biomass.

“This is carbon-neutral – it’s a clean, green idea,” Van Voorst said.
It could also boost morale in a town that’s seen a lot of media hype but is having a hard time getting excited about new projects after the disappointment over all the setbacks. “People heard all this talk, but they want to see results. Now we’re going to have something on the ground,” Van Voorst said.

There are other promising signs Reynolds could still become the model community the state envisioned when it launched the BioTown initiative in 2005. Habitat for Humanity plans to build a “green” home in Reynolds in the spring, and a downtown revitalization plan is in the works, although it currently lacks funding.

“We’re trying to get grants to fund some of that, but it’s kind of tough right now. It’s tough for a lot of small communities,” Van Voorst said.

“When the state came to us (with the BioTown project) I don’t think anybody realized how much money would go into it. We thought many more private investors would come in, but they didn’t.
“But this is not over, it can still happen. The state is still behind us, there’s just no money for it,” he added.

11/4/2009