NILES — With the tossing of dirt from 12 shovels, Indeck Niles Energy Services broke ground around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday on its projected three-year construction at 2100 Progressive Drive at the Niles Industrial Park.

The dozen men given shovels for the ceremonial dig marking the start of construction were leaders in making the natural gas plant a reality for the Niles area, a vision almost 20 years in the making.

The natural gas plant is projected to be a $1 billion investment by energy sector companies Indeck Energy Services, of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, and South Korean companies KOSPO and Daelim Energy.

When the plant runs with a 21-member crew in 2022, an average of 700,000 buildings are projected to be powered by the energy Indeck’s plant sends to the national grid. In the meantime, an estimated 500 union-contracted jobs from the area will be created to construct the plant.

The shovel-wielding men, wearing suits and white construction hats, stood in contrast to the flat landscape of leveled dirt, broken only by construction machines, piles of earth and rubble, a cluster of attendee cars and a bright white tent.

In the tent, many of the public officials and energy sector leaders that tossed dirt shared their thoughts on the project. All of them emphasized the importance of the relationships that stayed strong from when Niles first approved Indeck for the purchase of its industrial park land in 2000.

“It was a long time coming, but we are now a success story,” said David Hicks, Indeck Energy Services’ vice president of business development. “It’s a testament to the resilience and the perseverance and persistence of Indeck; our Korean equity partners KOSPO and Daelim Energy; and most importantly, the city of Niles, which has supported us since the beginning.”

Former Niles mayor Mike McCauslin, who served from 1999 to 2017, spoke during the ground-breaking ceremony about the pushback he and other city officials received from some residents for supporting the plant.

The site Indeck now occupies was sold to the company in 2000 with a 7-1 city council vote.

McCauslin also spoke about how a natural gas price spike and the bankruptcy of energy company Enron forced Indeck to pull back on construction.

Yet, he and others emphasized the relationships that held firm during hard times and good times.

“Good things come to those who wait,” he said. “Persistence and perseverance [are] keys to success.”

When talks about bringing an Indeck power plant to Niles began in 2000, Mayor Nick Shelton was in the Brandywine High School football program with project manager for plant construction Brian Koller. Years later, both became involved in a project they watched from the sidelines while growing up.

Shelton reflected on his time as a mayoral candidate in 2016. He said he pressed authorities of the project to make sure it was the right fit for his hometown.

“Three years and many grilling sessions later, my understanding and appreciation for this project coming to our community has continued to grow,” Shelton said.

Korean Consul General Young Sok Kim spoke of another relationship that he said has endured and will continue to: the partnership between South Korea and the U.S.

“We mark the first time a Korean-owned company has started a power plant in the United States,” Young said. “Korean companies have long been involved in a variety of power plant construction and management worldwide, and in the United States, we provide cost-effective natural gas and a sizeable market for electricity, culminating in a synergistic effect of two countries’ energy cooperation.”

He said the partnership will decrease dependence on coal and nuclear plants in both the U.S. and South Korea, which in turn runs tandem with the nations’ joint efforts to denuclearize North Korea.

Young also touched on climate change, another talking point of the midday event.

“We are working to increase the percentage of natural gas usage as a bridge into sustainable energy since it is more environmentally friendly and cost effective,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, who serves Niles and sits as the top Republican of the energy subcommittee, has been involved with Indeck and Niles since 2000. He also spoke about climate change.

“Clean energy is so important, particularly with global warming that we’ve seen happen,” he said. “This is part of the equation, and it’s going to create the jobs. It’s going to create the revenue. It’s going to continue to create the interest all of us have for not only southwest Michigan, but the entire region.”

Niles has long been of interest to Indeck because of its central proximity to three major hubs of energy: Detroit, Chicago and Indianapolis. The site the power plant also has easy access to interstate natural gas lines and could serve as a hub for the PJM, which coordinates the movement of electricity through parts of 13 states in the Midwest and New England.

Indeck touts its future plant to be one of the most efficient gas plants in the region and the world. Its combined cycle system allows it to produce more energy from the same amount of fuel that a single cycle system uses.

The company also states that the plant will produce 50 to 90 percent fewer emissions than a typical coal-fired plant.

Before the plant produces anything, however, construction by Kiewit and testing of the turbines need to be completed. Indeck expects the plant to open by March 2022.