Aspen Power powers up in Lufkin

LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) - The first renewable biomass plant in the state is finally up and running.  The turbines began moving at 7 P.M. Sunday evening at Aspen Power.

Company President Danny Vines teared up a few moments later, thrilled that his six-year long project was powering up.

"It's a great day for the city of Lufkin. It's a great day for the state of Texas," said Vines.

Also on hand for the powering up, Lufkin city councilman Robert Shankle.

"The majority of the community has supported this venture.  Sometimes you have some people that's against it, but the majority of the community and the city of Lufkin, we backed Mr. Vines on this project and it's finally come to pass."

Vines described how they were powering up the plant for the first time.

"We've got 80 people on site right now."

He says for the first 30 minutes they had the turbines running at 1000 rpms.  Then, they'll get it up to 1,800 rpms for one hour, and finally, they'll crank it up to 3,600 rpms.  Vines says the vibration level of the turbines was looking good so far.

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