June 14, 2013 Industrial Board Recommends Another One-Year Extension for Freedom Energy Diesel Project

At Wednesday's Industrial Board meeting, the Board voted to recommend that City Council give another one year extension to Freedom Energy Diesel to develop a coal-to-gas plant at the East Tennessee Progress Center.

In June 2011, 116 acres in the ETPC was sold at a deeply discounted price to D4 Capital Holdings, LLC which transferred the property to Freedom Energy Diesel, LLC for construction of a $405 Million dollar plant that would use new technology to convert coal into gas/diesel. The head of FED is David Wild of Morristown.

The IDB named FED "Project Victory."

Despite D4 and/or FED assurances that round-the-clock construction of the plant would begin, the City included in its June 2011 deed that if construction had not begun within one year, then the property would revert to the City of Morristown.

One year later, June 2012, grading had taken place but no construction of the facility had begun and no product was being shipped. FED asked for and was granted a one-year extension to go "overseas" for financing. David Wild spoke at that IDB meeting. See the council and IDB video here.

Now another year later, June 2013, no construction of the facility has begun and no product is being shipped. FED has asked for another extension. The second one-year extension is broken into two phases---6 months (December 31, 2013) to obtain and present proof that it has the financing in place for the project and then another 6 months (June 30, 2014) to begin construction.

No member of the IDB asked FED representative David Wild any questions about the status of the project before voting on the extension.  [IDB Chairman Jack Fishman said City Council had requested that the IDB make a recommendation.]

June 23, 2012 Freedom Energy Diesel Asks for Time To Go Overseas for Financing (video); City Grants One-Year Extension (video)

Above: Video of the City Council June 19 vote to give Freedom Energy Diesel (FED) another year to start construction on its coal gasification plant in the East Tennessee Progress Center.

Background. Just over a year ago, the Industrial Development Board of Morristown and Freedom Energy Diesel (FED) announced that FED would build a coal gasification plant in the East Tennessee Progress Center. The projected cost of the plant and equipment was over $400 Million dollars.

At that time, the IDB asked the City to move quickly to sell 116 acres to D4 Capital, the parent company of FED, so construction could begin according to FED's "aggressive" schedule.

The City sold 116 acres to D4 Capital in June 2011 at a deeply discounted rate with a provision that if actual construction on the Freedom Energy building had not begun by June 27, 2012, the land would be deeded back to the City at no cost to the City.

As the June 27, 2012, deadline approached and with no construction on the building taking place, FED representative David Wild met with the IDB on June 5, 2012, to ask the IDB to ask the City to give FED another year to get its financing in place and start construction. At that time, FED informed the IDB that it was working on securing overseas financing for the project.

Below: Video of the June 5 IDB meeting at which Freedom Energy asked the IDB to recommend that the City give FED another year to start construction. FED also stated that it would be going overseas to seek financing. 

June 9, 2012 Freedom Energy Diesel Going Overseas for Financing

Above is a video of a meeting of the Industrial Development Board (IDB) of Morristown. The meeting took place at 8:30 AM on June 5 in the lower level of the Chamber of Commerce building on West First North Street.  Jack Fishman presided.

The main topic was Freedom Energy Diesel, a project dubbed "Project Victory"when the IDB announced one year ago that FED was coming to Morristown. 

In June 2011, the City sold 116 acres in the East Tennessee Project Center to FED at a deeply reduced price with the provision that the property would revert to the City on June 27, 2012, if FED had not begun construction on its building by thar date.

Construction on the FED building has not begun, so FED representative David Wild, a local contractor, came to the IDB to ask that the IDB recommend that the City give FED another year to get its financing in place and start construction. 

Wild said that a lot of gradework has been done, but final gradework has been halted while FED goes overseas to try and obtain "final" financing.

The IDB Board voted unanimously to send a recommendation to the City of Morristown asking that the City give Freedom Energy Diesel an extra year to get its financing in place and start work on its building in the East Tennessee Progress Center.

The recommendation will go to the City Council for a vote on June 19.
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