Study gives hint of economic impact of Wolverine project on four-county area

by Richard Lamb– Advance Editor

According to a newly released study, significant new funds will be coming into the area, should the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture 600-megawatt power plant become a reality. A comprehensive economic impact study of the power plant component of the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture (WCEV) shows annual property tax revenue within Presque Isle County of $12.5 million, with more than $3 million allocated to local units of government, and more than 230 new jobs for the four-county region which includes Presque Isle, Alpena, Montmorency, and Cheboygan Counties. Anderson Economic Group, LLC (AEG) of Lansing conducted the independent, joint study for Wolverine Power Cooperative, the city of Rogers City, Rogers Township and the Presque Isle County Economic Development Commission. Alexander Rosaen, a senior analyst with AEG, presented results of the study.

?ANDERSON IS recognized around the state as being the gold standard of economic studies,? said Ken Bradstreet, director of community and government affairs for Wolverine. ?They have a reputation for being fairly conservative and one of the reasons we hired them is because we don?t want to over-promise. Certainly it is not to our advantage to paint some kind of pie-in-the-sky picture and then not have it happen. Before a breakfast gathering crowd of invited guests at the Water?s Edge Restaurant in Rogers City on Friday, Rosaen spelled out some of the details contained in the 40-page document and why companies commission economic studies. ?Many of our clients are in the situation where they are engaged with the public about what they want to do. One of the claims they are making is that ?we are going to spend all of this money in your community and it will create jobs and tax revenue?. The right question to ask, and most communities do, is how much tax revenue and how many jobs,? Rosaen said. ?This document is going to be made available to the public and it will be on our Web site (www.andersoneconomicgroup.com) and people will be able to see it.?

THE STUDY BROKE down economic numbers for Presque Isle County and the remainder of the four-county region, which includes Alpena, Cheboygan and Montmorency Counties. Commercial operation of Wolverine Power Cooperative?s base load power plant will provide more than $1.6 million in operating revenues to Presque Isle County, more than $275,000 in operating revenues for Rogers Township, and more than $180,000 in operating revenues for the city of Rogers City. In addition, dedicated millages for the Presque Isle County libraries, senior center, ambulance service and fire protection would be increased by more than $930,000.

?The impact on local units of government and local services, such as ambulance and fire, the senior center and library, is exciting,? said Bradstreet. ?Taxes will also be paid to local school and intermediate school districts.? Employment in the area will increase significantly both during the plant?s construction phase and once it is operational. The study shows construction of the plant will result in 3,900 single-year-duration jobs over a 5-year period in the Rogers City/Presque Isle County area. In addition, more than 170 permanent jobs are estimated for Presque Isle County alone once the plant is operational. The study also showed an increase in school enrollment, which

could help bring more funding to local schools. The study estimated an increase in school age children of 15 students during construction, and an increase of about 40 students once the power plant is operational. WITH SCHOOLS funded by a per-pupil foundation grant, this could amount to an increase of nearly $300,000 to local school districts with most of those students going to the Rogers City school district. the study suggests. ?With the problem of declining enrollment eroding school budgets in northern Michigan, these dollars could be a big help in restoring some much needed school funding,? Bradstreet said.

THE ANDERSON study did not include the economic benefits resulting from the possible use of biomass at the power plant. Wolverine has commissioned Anderson to look into the biomass impacts in a study to be released in the next few months. ?This is such a new area of economic development in the entire United States,? Rosaen said, so their AEG study will be breaking new ground. Experts from Michigan Tech will work with AEG to come up with financial numbers. ?We are hopeful we can have some kind of indicators within a month,? Bradstreet said about the biomass economic impact study.