The city of South Portland is mulling a proposal to create its own energy company that could reduce costs for two of the city’s largest employers.
Assistant City Manager and Economic Development Director Erik Carson floated the idea Monday night at a city council workshop as a way to cut operating costs for National Semiconductor and Fairchild Semiconductor, according to The Forecaster. The proposal would create a 25-megawatt power plant fueled by natural gas on the campus of National Semiconductor that would supply the company with thermal energy for its heating and cooling systems, and supply Fairchild with electricity. Carson said the plant would reduce Fairchild’s electricity costs by $1.6 million.
Councilors supported the idea, but said it would have to benefit not only those two companies, but the entire city. About $50,000 of a $114,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy slated for the city would be invested in the plant’s preliminary engineering, and the remainder would be used to hire an “energy czar” to manage operations, according to the paper.
