Environmental cleanup of a 220 acre East St. Louis
site polluted with bauxite residue from 50 years of alumina production at Alcoa’s
long abandoned plant at Missouri Avenue and 29th Street in the
southern Illinois Mississippi River town would be partially financed by Ameren
Illinois ratepayers under a bill pending in the Illinois House. The proposed legislation, sponsored by
Bellville Senator James Clayborne, would authorize Ameren to enter into a 20
year power supply contract with Brightfields Development LLC, which proposes to
build a $65 million solar power array on the land after USEPA finishes a $24
million Superfund cleanup of the property.
Brightfields’ Managing Principal John Hanselman says
a 20 year contract is required to obtain financing for the proposed solar array
construction project. Wellesley, Massachusetts based Brightfields needs the
above market power price commitment to proceed with redevelopment of the site.
Sponsors of the legislation say that the added cost of only $0.30 per year per
electricity customer would provide clean energy to meet peak demand in the E.
St. Louis area, and generate 600 construction jobs, and 20 permanent jobs on
completion of the project.
Development of the Alcoa site for uses involving
construction of multi-story structures is not feasible because of the
unsuitability of the soft bauxite waste to support building foundations. Other
plans15.5 billion gallon Bill Young Resorvoir at
Lithnia, Florida for redevelopment of the polluted site, which Alcoa
abandoned in the 1950’s, have been proposed, and failed, over the intervening
decades.
