Renewable Energy Company Has Big Plans for Former Timco Sawmill

1012 (nat sound dog barking, a few cars)
Barnstead is a sleepy town – especially during the lunch hour on weekdays.
(sound walking in door)
The only noticeable business in Center Barnstead is the White Buffalo Trading Post.
1223 (sound of cash register)
Residents here can buy groceries, sporting goods, and gifts.
In the back is a restaurant where Barnstead resident Gordon Treadwell is eating a late lunch.
He’s the only customer in the restaurant.
But back when the Timco sawmill was open, he says, Barnstead was much different.
(1221 :25 It was much better, we had people coming in for dinner every day there was continuous trucks coming in town, people had plenty of work, all the local loggers and truckers – it was much better :41)
Before it closed in 2003,Timco was Barnstead’s largest business, employing 100 people.
After the company left, the previous owner of this general store gave up and sold it.
And even now, the new owner, Vincent Lupoli says he’s had to lay off staff and lower menu prices just to keep customers coming in the doors.
(“We’ve been here a year and a half and we’ve all been hit very hard, all of our small businesses, with the economy the way it is, fuel prices, food costs, they’ve hit us really hard 1:20)
Most working residents have to commute for jobs and now the school system is Barnstead’s largest employer.
But that may soon change.
(This is the Timco site this is an addition here, we plan on keeping that)
That’s Erik True…Vice President of Forest Products for Sanco Energy, a 3 year old Connecticut based company.
He and his father Gregg True – a former Timco Manager- have big plans for this site.
1007 :22 Erik (the intention is to get this five megawatt co generation facility up and running as fast as possible, they’ll be plenty of jobs with that alone.)
By burning green wood chips, the existing plant on the Timco site can already generate five megawatts of power.
But True says it will be much cleaner.
Pollution control upgrades would remove 70-percent of nitrogen oxides and 50-percent of carbon dioxides – both greenhouse gases.
The elder True also works for Sanco.
He’s the President of Forest Products.
At a recent public meeting and he said meeting those standards is important but not just for environmental reasons
1190 “Gregg 1:23…….the project is not feasible unless we meet those requirements because we have to have those renewable energy credits as part of the income stream”
But that’s only the beginning for Sanco Energy.
The company plans to eventually produce 20 megawatts of power.
Waste steam from the plant would not only power their buildings, but heat a Tilapia fish farm.
And to make the plant a so-called closed loop system, even the fish waste would be used as fertilizer for crops and greenhouses.
The company provided little information on the aquaculture facilities – saying it was proprietary.
But in his sales pitch to residents, Gregg True focused on what Barnstead stands to gain – jobs.
1190 3:48 they’ll be some 50 to 100 direct jobs on the site, they’ll be up to 50 construction jobs for two years because of the refitting of the five megawatt and obviously the building and construction of the aquaculture facilities.
In addition to those jobs, they estimate more foresters, loggers, and truckers would be needed for the project.
The former Timco manager told planning officials and residents that Sanco Energy wants to help the local economy, just as Timco did.
1195 2:40 hopefully the people that remember us from 30 years ago, we always told you what we’re going to do and we hope we did what we said we were going to do that’s our intent again.
Residents raised few concerns at the public hearing before the planning board.
Robin Donavon – who lives across the river from the site- says she believes Sanco will do what they say.
1214 :10 I think it’s a great idea I mean the town really needs an infusion of business bring a little life back into this town get some jobs in the town again :22
She says because there are so few businesses left in Barnstead, the tax burden falls on the residents.
Planning Board Chair Dave Murley backed the company’s proposal for many of the same reasons.
He says residents recently voted against building a new school and new town office because no one wants to see their taxes go up again.
1218 :17 this is a great opportunity for the town, economic development is not something that a lot of towns have seen a lot of these days and this has the possibility of becoming a huge thing if all goes according to plan :35
Other planning board members agreed but gave Sanco Energy approval on plans for only the five megawatt co-generation plant.
Approval for the additional 15 megawatts, the aquaculture and greenhouses will be considered in phases.
But even with the first step approved, Sanco Energy officials say the renewable energy company will be profitable.
They plan to begin construction by July.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.