Arthur P. Barry III, SIOR with Coldwell Banker Commercial Eberhardt & Barry, Inc. of Macon, Georgia, brokered the sale of the former Enercon Enterprises fabrication/manufacturing/custom power solutions facility located at 490 Industrial Road. The purchaser was the Lamar County Solid Waste Authority.

This facility was previously utilized by East Peoria Illinois based Enercon Engineering as a custom power plant fabrication and manufacturing facility and employed just under 100 employees through December 31, 2017 when operations there closed. The Barnesville, GA building contained 100,000± square feet on 48 acres of land in the Lamar County Industrial Park.

The new venture will initially create 30 new jobs on-site. The Lamar County Solid Waste Authority has spent the past 10 years evaluating and testing waste to energy and waste to fuels technologies that can, not only extend the life of, but also make landfills obsolete. The purchase of the building is part of the WTE project.

The authority’s WTE project is fully permitted, fully funded, and this will be one of the first commercial plants of its type to process and “upgrade” municipal solid waste via thermal conversion. The plant will process 200 tons per day of waste into gas which can be utilized for heat, electricity, fuels, or steam, and a carbon-rich “char” which has utilizations in several sectors including plastics manufacturing via composites. These uses have been validated by actual product manufacturers, laboratory, and university confirmations. 3D printer filament has been made utilizing the char.

“What this means for business is the ability to achieve previously unachievable sustainability goals, even to the point in some cases of being able to Certify for many manufacturers or industries that they send Zero waste to the landfill. Most waste streams that are not recyclable can be processed thru the carbonization system,” said solid waste Authority Director Johnny Poore.

“Lamar County prides itself on offering unique opportunities for business and industry. We are very pleased that the Solid Waste Authority has had the leadership and foresight to partner with the private sector for zero waste and sustainability goals, create jobs in the process, extend the life of the landfill and bring revenue to our community,” said Kathy Oxford, executive director for the Barnesville-Lamar County Industrial Development Authority. “We have enjoyed our partnership with the SWA and welcome any companies with these same goals, to our community.”