USC to release audit on $19.6 million plant soon
University officials met with Johnson Controls, the company that built its failed $19.6 million biomass plant, on Tuesday to talk about alternative solutions for the building.
While USC chief financial officer Ed Walton wouldn’t disclose exactly what those talks entailed since it’s a contractual matter, USC President Harris Pastides said at a board of trustees meeting last week that the university will continue to work with Johnson to repurpose the building in whatever capacity possible. He insisted the company has good intentions of providing a working source of energy for USC.
USC administrators had hoped the facility, on the corner of Sumter and Whaley streets near Stone Stadium, would produce 85 percent of USC’s energy by burning wood chips and save the university $2.1 million a year. The plant was closed after working for only 98 days.
As part of the contract it signed when it agreed to take on the project, Johnson is paying the university back the full $19.6 million in $2.1 million annuities. A USC audit of the plant contract will be released sometime this month, Walton said.