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Some Oak Ridge community members concerned about new industrial company

TRISO-X plans to invest in the Horizon Center in Oak Ridge. It said it needs more power.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — A nuclear fuel company, TRISO-X, chose the Horizon Center in Oak Ridge to build a new fabrication facility. 

It said it planned to spend more than $300 million on the new facility and said it would hire around 400 people, according to Dr. Mark Watson, the city manager.

However, the Horizon Center site chosen doesn't have enough power, Watson said. 

The city commissioned a study on the best way to get power to the Horizon Center facility. The preferred route runs along a greenway used by people on the Roane County side of Oak Ridge, at the intersection of State Highways 58 and 95. 

Members of the community are concerned the power line would either get rid of their greenway or the city would have to cut down some of the trees that run along the greenway to add the power lines. 

The city manager said the current plans would not remove the greenways, but the city may have to trim some of the trees back to make room for the power line. 

"It destroys the continuity of the canopy," said Charlie Hensley, a Planning Commission member and a frequent user of the greenway. 

"It's like a tunnel through the trees," Hensley said. "It's one of my favorite places to be." 

He said he wants the city to consider alternatives before they cut down those trees, and his biking partner on that greenway, Doug Colclasure, said some of those trees have been there since before the Manhattan Project. He said they serve as paths for birds in the natural areas. 

"When I was on [city] council, I was a strong advocate for business," Hensley said. "But I want us to consider the lost resources." 

The city manager said he thinks what the facility brings is a good trade-off for building those power lines. 

"When this company is ready to turn the switch and be active, we need to be ready for them," Watson said. 

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