State officials Tuesday announced that the city of Flint and a Swedish alternative energy firm, Swedish Biogas International, will produce alternative energy from waste removed from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. 

The plant will produce biogas -- an alternative energy that can fuel vehicles and generate heat and electricity. 

There were no immediate details on the plant's size, employment or financing. The Flint Journal reported it would cost up to $10 million initially and state and federal grants could help support it as a pilot project.

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm called the announcement of the plant “a major building block in creating the state’s alternative energy industry” and said that it will lay the groundwork for creating jobs in the industry.

Added Lt. Gov. John Cherry: “This historic partnership will create new jobs and attract business investment to Flint. Equally important is its enormous potential to test and perfect technology that will not only reduce dependence on fossil fuels by producing alternative fuel for heating and transportation but also improve the environmental profile of plants across the country.”

The project is a result of Granholm’s investment mission to Sweden in August 2007 and has the active support of U.S. Ambassador to Sweden Michael Wood, a Flint native. Granholm traveled to Sweden last year to meet with government and company officials in an effort to develop alternative energy partnerships and encourage investment in Michigan. Sweden is a recognized global leader in renewable fuels with more than 65 percent of heating needs of all buildings derived from biomass waste.

“Our vision for Flint is to create a financial generator out of our waste water treatment plant,” said Flint Mayor Donald J. Williamson.  “We can generate clean energy from waste and create new jobs for Flint.  Once established, we could expand the project to produce more fuel to power more vehicles, creating additional investment and jobs and reduce operating expenses for city vehicles.”

The Flint-Sweden demonstration project lays the groundwork for eventual creation of a Michigan Center of Energy Excellence, an initiative outlined in the governor’s State of the State address earlier this year. Centers of Excellence will link a job-creating alternative energy company with a university where they will co-locate to conduct research and create new jobs. Center partners may include Kettering University, Swedish Biogas, and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.