Development for a controversial power plant has been suspended.

The plant was slated to be on a 12.4-triangular acre site, bordered by Audubon Road, Engler Boulevard and County Road 61, near the Gedney Foods plant in Ward 3.

In December, a petition with approximately 195 signatures was submitted to the Chaska City Council after it voted 4-1 in favor of the project’s concept plan. The petition stated that residents living in the South Ridge Falls and Hazeltine Bluffs neighborhoods were against the building of the electric plant.

The plant would have been fueled by natural gas.

In the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s last board meeting, members decided that they would suspend moving forward with the development, according to a report written by City Administrator Matt Podhradsky. The plant was not as economically viable as it was when it was first planned, Podhradsky stated.

“After much consideration, the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) has decided to discontinue its development efforts for the power generation facility,” said a MMPA statement emailed to the Herald. “The agency is pursing alternative power generation opportunities.”

The MMPA will continue to own the site and will consider future uses for the property, the statement continued.

The plant would have been similar to one in Shakopee. The MMPA just celebrated that plant’s grand opening on July 27, though it had been in operation since February.