Projects - Halifax

Southside PDC secures grant funds for a new wood waste-fired biomass electric generating facility.

South Boston Energy projectTractor-trailer rigs packed with wood waste are lifted high in the sky while the contents are emptied to use as fuel at the new South Boston Energy Plant, which will use renewable biofuels to generate power for customers of the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC). Photo courtesy of the News and Record, South Boston/Halifax County, VA."Waste not, want not," goes the age old adage that suits the South Boston Energy Project. South Boston Energy is partnering with Halifax County Service Authority and Halifax County to turn waste, by-products and residue into a useable energy source. The benefit is twofold: the generating of needed electricity and the disposal of unneeded wastes. The first loads of wood waste were delivered at the new power plant in March.

The project is made possible by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development prepared by Southside Planning District Commission on behalf of Halifax County. The $650,000 grant was used to construct off-site improvements to serve South Boston Energy, a 49.9 megawatt biomass-fueled power plant located on a 100-acre brownfield site near South Boston, Virginia. The new wood-fired power plant will have the capacity to burn as much as 600,000 tons of wood waste annually to generate renewable electric energy to serve the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC).

Southside PDC Secures Grant Funding for New Dental Clinic

Dental Clinic Floss Cutting Jan 2013 041"Cutting the Floss" photo courtesy of The News & RecordUntil recently, Halifax County residents had to get in line for affordable dental care. Thanks to the efforts of Halifax Regional Health Services and their partners, a new dental clinic has opened inside South Boston's Halifax Primary Care.

The need for affordable dental care was great in the Halifax region. The HRHS reported about 1,000 lower income residents annually visit the ER with dental complaints, instead of a dentist, because they couldn't afford dental care and had no dental insurance. Before the opening of the Halifax Dental Clinic only two dentists in the region were using Smiles for Children/Medicaid. Of those two, the first was not taking new patients and the second had a waiting list.