Ed Paxton Was Lone Voice of Opposition During Public Hearing
During their Tuesday, November 18 meeting, Greenville County Council held a public hearing on an ordinance to amend an agreement for the development of a joint county industrial and business park of Anderson and Greenville’s Counties so as to enlarge the park.
Duke Energy is part of the agreement involving a project secretly known as “Project Mystery Green.”
Addressing the council, retired engineer and former engineering company CEO Ed Paxton stated that Duke has grown from a small company to the largest energy company in the nation and was no longer what they once were.
He said, “If I read this thing accurately, we are talking about a couple of hundred acres of land.”
“I object to this thing for no other reason,” he added. “If I understand it right, we are talking about a gas powered power plant. Probably what it is going to do is run the price of gas up in this area and force them to take right-of-ways through condemnation, more power lines, more transmission lines, and it’s going to require more gas lines in this area. This will be at the expense of Greenville County. I think this matter needs to be vetted some more. I have a little problem that this thing has not been properly vetted before the public.
“I guess I don’t understand why it is that Duke Power Company wants to be a part of an industrial park. They are big boys now days. They can float bonds. They can issue stock. They have got a huge cash flow.”
Paxton asked: “How do we know that this is not a ‘sweetheart deal’ with Anderson County? It will rise up and bite us.”
Paxton had three minutes to speak. Shortly after his input, the Council voted unanimously to approve the Ordinance on third reading.
