NEWS RELEASE - Monday, December 22, 2008

Press Release…. For immediate release

The Board of Directors of the Sweetwater Enterprise for Economic Development (SEED) have voted unanimously to support the Tenaska Trail Blazer Project and their request to the Nolan County Commissioner Court of a 75% Abatement for 10 years.  This was done at a called meeting of SEED by board President John Jay on Friday, December 19, 2008.  In attendance at the meeting were representatives from the SEED Board of Directors and staff, Sweetwater City Commission, Nolan County Commissioners Court, Tenaska, Nolan County Central Appraisal District, Pritchard & Abbott Inc., and the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce.

Tenaska, Inc., an experienced energy developer, is evaluating a site east of Sweetwater, Texas, in which to construct and operate the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center, a next-generation power generating station. From day one, the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center, fueled by low-sulfur coal, will capture carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas considered by many to be associated with global warming, and provide for its geologic storage. No new conventional coal-fueled power plant in the United States today utilizes carbon management technology on a commercial scale.

The Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center will generate approximately 765 megawatts (MW) gross and 600 MW net, using best available supercritical steam, pulverized coal technology. Six hundred megawatts is enough power to meet the around-the-clock needs of approximately 600,000 homes. This plant will be designed to capture 85 to 90 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by combustion and deliver it via pipeline to Permian Basin oil fields for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and ultimately, geologic storage. Additional information on the Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center project can be found at http://www.tenaskatrailblazer.com/.  You may also find information about the community of Sweetwater and its economic development efforts at www.sweetwatertexas.net.

The proposed Tenaska project is expected to cost between $3.0 and $3.5 billion dollars.

Ken Becker, Executive Director
SEED
325-235-0555
ken@sweetwatertexas.net