Duke's proposed pipeline would not be involved in the sale of natural gas, only in distributing it from one point to another. The generating plant, if built, would be a customer of the pipeline. The proposed power plant would need to take 6 million gallons of water a day from the New River, and return about 600,000 gallons at a warmer temperature. That has caused some concern by people in communities outside Wythe County along the river. Access to the river from the 715-acre site under option by Duke near Foster Falls is the major technical problem to be overcome, said Alan Hawthorne, the authority's executive director.
Water remains the problem.
I'll tell you right now it's a serious problem. But he did not think the warmer water returned to the river would be a problem. Everybody will be happy when we are able to get all the information out, I have no doubt about it. Progress Park is a 1,210-acre industrial park east of Wytheville being developed jointly by the town and counties of Wythe and Bland. Three-phase electric power to the park was completed April 20 to serve Wytheville Technologies, its first tenant now building an automotive parts manufacturing center there.