Officials broke ground on a clean and locally sourced energy facility Wednesday on the site of the former Endicott coal-fired power plant.

Michigan Hub, Inc. is developing the 44-acre site at 720 Herring Road, Litchfield in the Litchfield Industrial Park. The $100-million project is expected to create 75 jobs and be completed by 2022.

CEO Glenn Foy said it will "craft the future with local power" by providing tenants with locally sourced electricity, steam and chilled water "at a price that will reduce their production and utility costs."

"We believe in a true 'hub' of forward-looking businesses that demand low-cost energy that is locally produced and reduces their carbon footprint and costs," he said.

The plan is to bring in 15 tenants and the first is already confirmed.

Independent Barley & Malt, Inc., which produces malted barley and other grains for brewers and distillers, will be the first on site. The company produces 50,000 tons of malted grains a year, according to a news release.

"Once we found Michigan Hub and learned about their plans for the site ... it was the perfect fit," said Mark Schauer, director of corporate affairs. "We will be the largest producer of malt for craft brewers and distillers east of Milwaukee. We're inherently a big energy user. To have access to unlimited steam for our process is precisely what we need."

Their cost of utilities will be about 41 percent less than using conventional electricity generation, Foy said.

His team has been working on the project, including the property acquisition process, since September 2016, and they aim to acquire an additional 150 acres.

Other potential future tenants include: data centers, bio-pharmaceutical production, grain milling, commercial bakery, automotive OEM and bioenergy.