QUINCY — Quincy-area residents are being invited to get an update on, and ask questions about, a project to build standalone energy generation, a joint venture between the Port of Quincy and Colusa Indian Energy. A town hall meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Quincy Business and Events Center, 115 F St. SW.  

Port of Quincy commission chair Curt Morris said the goal is to let port district patrons know where the project is and where it's going. 

"If you have any interest, come to this town hall meeting and we'll bring you up to speed," Morris said.  

"The meeting will provide an overview of the project, outline its role in strengthening long-term regional energy reliability, and highlight potential benefits for local jobs (and) business growth," said a port media release. "Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the project's goals, ask questions and offer input as the port works to support future energy needs across the Columbia Basin."  

The project was announced in February, and Morris said that while it may not look like much has happened, there's been a lot going on. Most of it has involved meeting regulatory requirements, among them a cultural resource study. 

"After you've ordered it, you just have to sit and wait for it to be done," he said.  

That study has been completed and found no concerns, Morris said. Port officials also were required to conduct a study of the site's geographical suitability. That too has been completed and also found no concerns, he said. 

There are still decisions to be made, however. 

"We're still working on where we're going to put it," Morris said. 

Many of the components will be shipped to the site by rail, Morris said, so the facility will have to be close to the tracks. Port officials awarded a $4.62 million contract to Active Construction, Tacoma, for the first phase of its rail project in mid-October. 

"We're going to start on the rail (project) by month's end," Morris said. 

The port received about $4.5 million in federal and state grants for the rail project, providing about $100,000 of its own money. 

“We’re basically adding a mile of track inside the intermodal,” Morris said in an earlier interview. “We're preparing to cross Road O (Northwest), but we’re not going to put track across Road O.” 

Crews also will be preparing the ground at the Road O NW crossing for the eventual extension of the tracks, he said. Construction crews will be working this winter in part because the rail extension must cross an irrigation drain ditch, which is in use from March to October. Morris estimated construction of the first phase would take about 18 months.  

Ken Ahmann, chief operating officer of Colusa, said in February that the company had a tentative timeline of three to five years. 

“We would love to target the end of 2029, and that’s what we’ve told the regulatory agencies," Ahmann said.  

Port Commissioner Brian Kuest said in August that company officials want to have the project in the testing phase by 2029. Over the summer, Colusa officials completed the first draft of a proposal they plan to submit to federal and state agencies. 

“It's basically a project that's going to take biomass, create synthetic energy, and use that as a basis to start the power project,” Kuest said. “The synthetic energy would come from wood biomass to start with.” 

Kuest said the goal is to start with 10 megawatts of power and scale up from there, diversifying into other fuels as it expands. The goal is to start construction in late 2027 or early 2028, he said. 

“They wanted to start with 10 megs, to show the process would work, and then build up to 345 megs,” he said. 

Among the options for fuel is natural gas, which in Washington is subject to stringent state regulation. 

"We've got to see what the state legislature is going to do about that," Morris said.  

Ahmann said using a variety of fuels will improve reliability. 

“You’ve got a base load generation (that) could be gas fired, could be geothermal, could be nuclear, could be all kinds of different supplementary power generation coming from these renewable assets like solar,” he said.  

Customers asking for electricity in Grant County face increasing wait times, since the primary supplier, the Grant County Public Utility District, has allocated all the electricity available to it that's generated locally. In light of that, some local port districts and businesses are working on alternatives. 

“We’ve got to do something, because there’s no alternative power,” Morris said. 

Ahmann said the project would help Quincy in its search for a more diversified and robust economy, 

“Growth is happening. Whether it’s load growth or economic growth, we’re continuing to expand and not having this infrastructure in place creates an economic loss. It’s the companies that can’t come here, or that come here and say, ‘I need 50 megawatts and 50 acres,’ and the acres are there, the rest of the infrastructure is there, but without the power. So those opportunities pass by,” Ahman said. 

    Port of Quincy commissioners Curt Morris, left and Brian Kuest, right, will be on hand to answer questions about the port's project to build a standalone generation facility at an open house Nov. 19.