Hydro-electric plant, dam being sold to Swift River

By Don Eriksson of Pepperell Free Press

Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - PEPPERELL -- The hydro-electric plant and its dam that are key pieces of the former paper mill on Main Street might soon have a new owner, but the future of the mill buildings themselves is still up in the air, according to its owners.

Perry Videx Inc. of New Jersey purchase the paper mill and hydro-electric plant last year.

Perry Videx Chairman Jerry Epstein has confirmed that Swift River Co. of Wilbraham has signed papers to purchase the hydro plant, dam and wooden penstock that carries Nashua River water to the three turbines that produce electricity formerly used in the paper mill.

W. Davis Hobbs, vice president of Swift River Hydro Operation, and Epstein would like to see local electricity once again power the paper mill, but if not, Hobbs said Swift River will sell electricity to the Massachusetts Electric power grid.

"We have signed purchase papers and hope to close by the end of the year," Hobbs said Monday.

Finalization is temporarily stalled by what he described as a "zoning issue" that involves a slice of land between the river and the rear of Railroad Square stores.

Fire Chief Costa Bozicas has said the Fire Department would like to see improved access to the property so that fire apparatus can reach the rear of the buildings. Access sufficient for fire equipment is currently blocked by a pile of dirt.

"It's a done deal, but we're still trying [to sell] the paper mill," Epstein said of the acquisition. "The price would be very, very attractive."

Epstein has been negotiating with three prospective buyers for the mill buildings, but prospects are not good. He confirmed one interested party was a Chinese firm whose representatives briefly met with Tax Collector Michael Hartnett some weeks ago. The other two are United States-based firms.

He said the Chinese-Malaysian region is "becoming a factor" in paper production. Taking note of recent reports that Malden Mills in Lawrence is attempting to save its complex by selling some of it to real estate, Epstein said there is not enough room in the Pepperell location to do the same.

"We're still trying to [sell to a paper producer] and hire some local people back, but our backup plan is to liquidate machinery piecemeal," he said. "They've [Swift River] told us if we find a buyer for the mill, they'll sell them electricity."

Hobbs said, "We really want someone there who can get the full benefit of our electricity. It's better for us and the town as opposed to going on the power grid where it gets lost."

Swift River Manager Peter Clark told the press last week that the company hopes to increase hydro plant productivity up to 40 percent and produce 7.2 million kilowatt hours per year.

Hobbs said Monday the plan includes a rebuild of one of three generators and to fix a second. An automatic "trash rake," bars that prevent large pieces of floating debris, will be added to the water intake at the mouth of the penstock.

"It would take out trees, etcetera, so they don't have to be removed by hand the way Gary [Giguere] does now," he said. Giguere was retained by PerryVidex to care for the mill and hydro plant. Swift River will operate the plant (turn generators on and off) by computers that are overseen by someone like Giguere.

Giguere has a copy of an inspection report that details work that Swift River wants to do. He said despite appearances, such as the fascia of concrete on the hydro plant's spillway, most equipment is in reasonable shape, including the cedar wood penstock.

Hobbs said Swift River has sent a proposal to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for it to buy 100 percent of the Pepperell plant's production ($743,200) for 10 years. That would help pay for the upgrades, Hobbs said.

The collaborative is a quasi-governmental organization that distributes money derived from the renewable energy portion of Massachusetts Electric bills to producers of "green" energy. These include bio-mass, solar, wind, and small hydro plants.

If Swift River must sell its power to the grid, its production would be sold to the collaborative in the form of state-sanctioned Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to energy providers or consumers as an investment. Electric rate-payers can, for a premium, purchase electricity solely from renewable green energy sources.