Central Huron's Mayor wants to work with neighbours of the former Bluewater Youth Centre property on the idea of developing a green and circular energy park at the site.
Danish company GreenLab pitched the latest concept for the property, which could see a private-partnership develop the site south of Goderich.
Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn said the idea is to bring a number of green businesses to work together on the property, with one industry’s processing end product becoming a feedstock for another one.
"Some of the uses would probably be agricultural, I'm guessing, because of the nature of the economy here in Huron County," he explained. "Things like corn stock could be used for purposes like renewable fuels, and they have some technologies that use the remainder of the component of straw or corn stock to be used as a soil amendment."
Ginn pointed out the municipality has prepared the property for a new use.
"The municipality has purchased the property and with the demolition now complete, we've invested $5 million in the property," he continued. "So you know, we're getting close to the limit of what we could invest further. So we'd probably be looking at hiring some kind of a business consultant to manage the property."
Ginn added that community support is important. He wants to work with residents to address possible issues like traffic, or noise.
"Well, there's always concern by neighbors. So there was a number that were at the council chambers and we walked them through the whole process of our reason for buying the center, and what our goals were," Ginn explained. "But yeah you fear of the unknown. And until we get some more answers, it's a little hard to answer the questions that they have. But they have formed a group, which we see as positive, so that we can communicate with them and then they can spread it out to all the neighbors in the area."
Ginn predicted the proposal would be a great fit for the area.
"We're in need of it, especially because as our world becomes more electrified, with the phasing out fossil fuels, means anything that can produce energy is a good thing," he added. "Some of these industries may be able to use surplus power at night rather than, you know, creating their own energy or they may be able to create a fuel that could be used during peak electricity demand times."
Council has asked staff to find out the cost of a feasibility study into the creation of a green and circular energy park at the former Bluewater Youth Centre property.
