To the editor: Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony Sheridan is correct when he writes (“Killingly Energy Center a boon to clean energy, economic development”) that the proposed Killingly Energy Center will have many benefits for the town of Killingly and Connecticut. I should know. I am the Mayor of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where NTE Energy built and now operates Kings Mountain Energy Center.
To the editor:
Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony Sheridan is correct when he writes (“Killingly Energy Center a boon to clean energy, economic development”) that the proposed Killingly Energy Center will have many benefits for the town of Killingly and Connecticut. I should know. I am the Mayor of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where NTE Energy built and now operates Kings Mountain Energy Center.
The promise of hundreds of construction jobs, cleaner, more reliable energy and millions of dollars in new tax revenue, with no impacts on municipal services, sounded almost too good to be true. But it was true. NTE's Kings Mountain Energy Center began operation last summer and we have seen NTE meet every commitment and promise they made.
The job fair that NTE ran prior to plant construction resulted in hundreds of jobs locally.
The city of Kings Mountain and the state of North Carolina now have a more reliable and cleaner source of energy and is helping displace older, less efficient power generating facilities in the region. And the city of Kings Mountain has indeed seen a sizable, and very much needed, increase in property taxes from the facility helping to support our schools and public safety. And again, all of this has been done with no negative impact to our city's services.
In addition to the jobs created and the cleaner energy for the environment and the tax revenues, NTE has proven to be an outstanding community partner. Through NTE's substantial support for our local charities, their participation in scholarship programs for high school seniors, to their corporate support of local activities, NTE is one of Kings Mountain's premiere corporate citizens.
I can certainly understand how some might be skeptical, but please take my word. NTE's Killingly Energy Center can do for Killingly and Connecticut what Kings Mountain Energy Center has done for my community and the state of North Carolina.
Sincerely,
Scott Neisler Mayor, City of Kings Mountain City Hall 101 W Gold Street Kings Mountain, NC 28086 scott.neisler@cityofkm.com
