Middletown residents took to the streets Monday to protest proposed plans to build a power plant in town.
Citizens have been divided on the proposal to build a 228,000-square ft. data center since it was presented last April. The plan involves building a 52.5 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant to help power the facility.
Though the data center would bring 75 high-paying jobs to the area, residents are concerned about the power plant’s impact on the environment and their health.
Pete Sullivan was one of about 30 demonstrators to participated on Monday. He says he and his neighbors feel that officials have left them in the dark on those details.
“Mayor Branner says there aren’t going to be health effects, right? But they still haven’t even provided us what power generation equipment is going to be used, emissions control devices, stuff like that," said Sullivan. "Without that information, they don’t even get estimates from the manufacturer about how many tons of different pollutants are going to come out of this power plant.”
The protest that took place on Monday was the fifth in a series of monthly demonstrations by residents. While their overall goal is to block the proposal, their short-term demand for the town council to conduct a meeting where adequate information would be provided.
“Our goal is to keep the pressure up because we do want to have that public information meeting," said Sullivan. "So when the mayor is ready to present that stuff, we want the public to see it and want to get it on public record.”
Middletown is also holding elections for its town council on Monday, March 7. The six candidates vying for three seats on the council debated last week on several issues, including their positions on the power plant. Last August, the town council voted unanimously in favor of it.
