Tag Archives: biomass

Gainesville City Commission elections are Tuesday, and WUFT News has interviewed candidates to help voters make informed decisions. The candidates on Tuesday's ballot shared their reasons for running and visions for the city of Gainesville.

Gainesville residents using less energy means generating less money for Gainesville services such as police and parks. To offset the loss, the average bill for a GRU customer increased about $6 in October, resulting in the second highest ranked residential bill in the state.

Gainesville Regional Utilities will be audited by a third party to investigate a 30-year contract between the company and the owners of a biomass plant.

Gainesville residents and businesses can expect increased energy costs starting Wednesday. The increase comes despite Gainesville Regional Utility lowering its base rates and cutting fixed costs.

GRU and area agencies are discontinuing the special hotline for complaints about noise from the biomass plant.

Some Alachua County residents are still hearing noises from the biomass plant, even after the installation of noise-absorbing acoustic panels.

WUFT News measured this past month the noise in areas near Gainesville Renewable Energy Center's biomass plant, which some locals said disrupts their daily lives.

Noise, smoke and dust invading your neighborhood may seem like an urgent problem, but when it's the routine conditions of a licensed plant, officials say it's really not a 911 emergency.

The GREC and Gainesville City Commission still have not reached an agreement on the purchase of the biomass plant, and now Commissioner Randy Wells wants reassurance that the plant will not be purchased in the future for less.

A biomass plant is causing more issues between GREC and the city commission as the commission negotiates to buy the plant.