EVANSVILLE—A deal for alternative energy startup Earthcare Energy LLC to open a manufacturing plant in Evansville's old Whirlpool plant went sour, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke says, because Earthcare did not meet two of the city's requirements as outlined in a letter of agreement.
Winnecke said today that Earthcare did not apply for a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy and advised city attorneys that it would not apply.
Earthcare planned to build generators that would convert energy from natural gas as it leaves transcontinental pipelines to electricity.
But Winnecke and Corporation Counsel Ted Ziemer Jr., said Earthcare also did not produce a written license agreement with the product's inventor under which the company would be the exclusive party to manufacture the units. Such an agreement, they said, had to permit the assignment of the licensing agreement to the city as collateral for a $4.8 million startup low-interest loan from the city.
Ziemer said the company's lawyers advised him Tuesday afternoon that he would be receiving a licensing agreement that would not be exclusive to Evansville, something he called unacceptable.
"In other words, others might be permitted to use this same process," he said.
But sometime before 6 p.m. Tuesday, Ziemer said, Earthcare representatives appeared at his office with "what they said was an exclusive license agreement."
"We had not seen that. It had not been forwarded to us by their attorneys. We had no opportunity to review it, and so that did not change our decision to go ahead and terminate the transaction," he said.
Winnecke said Earthcare received an initial $200,000 loan in March and has already paid back $16,000 of it.
"We suspect they'll live up to the terms of that loan repayment, but the $4.8 million has not been distributed to them, nor will it," the mayor said.
"There are several viable economic development prospects that are looking to Evansvile and Vanderburgh County, and we continue to work with our jobs team specifically the folks at the Growth Alliance for Greater Evansville and the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, to try and recruit people here," he said.
Earthcare founder Ken Haney said he would respond to the city's assertions today.