ISLAND POND, VT -- The developers who planned to convert a former Ethan Allen furniture factory into a wood pellet plant apparently have lost interest in the project.
The Barton Chronicle recently reported that Vermont Biomass Energy Company allowed a deadline for a $1 million no-interest federal loan to pass without taking action.
âWe tried to get (the developer) to ask for an extension (of the federal grant deadline),â Chairman Jerry Goupee told the newspaper. âAll they had to do was sign their name.â
Vermont Biomass Energy Company reportedly would have had 10 years to pay off the no interest loan to build the wood pellet factory. While prospects for the project look bleak, the loan remains available to the town of Island Pond. It could still award it for the pellet plant or some other development.
The wood pellet developer also had dibs on a local airport to store raw wood material. That deal could be rescinded, the paper said. The pellet plant would have created approximately 34 jobs.
Posted by Rich Christianson
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