Talks between the East Kansas Agri Energy Ethanol Plant and the City of Garnett could yield a new local electrical plant that would allow the City and the local ethanol producer to generate a portion of their own needed electricity and sell surplus power back to the regional electrical grid. City Manager, Travis Wilson, says right now it would be a natural gas powered facility that would be housed at the plant on South Main Street and supply heat and power for the ethanol as well as provide the city another option for power. He says the City had encountered issues with its electrical purchase portfolio, including the city being dripped periodically from Evergy’s power connection. Those events put the city in the dark until power can be restored.
Wilson says the benefits of this is being self-reliant in power, not depending on the market for power and lowering their risk if there is another cold event where the pricing was gouged. The estimated price tag would come in around $28 million.
