GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The state has allocated an additional $5 million toward developing a Sustainable Business Park near Byron Center, more than doubling the project’s state funding.
The money comes from the budget of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, according to a Wednesday release from the Kent County Department of Public Works. The funds will go toward site infrastructure.
Last year, the state initially invested $4 million in the project, the DPW said.
Once approved by the Board of Commissioners, the Sustainable Business Park will be built on the 250 acres of land next to Byron Center’s South Kent Landfill. Kent County originally planned to use the 250 acres as a landfill, the release said.
The goal is to cut down on waste: The park will help Kent County divert 90% of trash from landfills by 2030, the Kent County DPW said.
The DPW said the park’s anchor tenant will be the Kent County Bioenergy Facility, a mixed-waste processing facility that will produce natural gas and fertilizer by processing hundreds of thousands of tons of municipal solid waste and organic waste each year.
The bioenergy facility will increase recycling, reduce landfill use and create jobs in the area, according to the Kent County DPW.
In June, the Kent County Bioenergy Facility received a $5 million grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission, the DPW said.
