<!--Mark Scheer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Mark Scheer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com">mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
State officials hope the rebirth of a manufacturing plant in the North End of the city will play a key role in the development of renewable energy statewide.
Gov. David Paterson on Monday visited Globe Specialty Metals, a Highland Avenue silicon manufacturing plant that resumed production earlier this month after being closed by a previous ownership group six years ago.
The new owners, operating under a hefty incentive package from the Empire State Development Corp. and New York State Power Authority, say they have invested $27 million in the facility to date and are now employing 138 people.
Their long-term plan, trumpeted by Paterson as a positive sign of the future for New York’s commercial base, involves development of a higher-grade form of silicon that is used in the production of solar panels.
Over the course of its five-year agreement with the state, Globe is expected to produce enough high-end product to produce solar panels capable of generating 500 MW of power each year.
Paterson believes Globe’s presence in Western New York will serve as a signal to other companies in the renewable energy business that New York state is serious about going green.
“If we are going to emerge victorious after this economic downturn — the worst we’ve seen in 80 years — we are going to have to be plugged in to the new economy, one which is based on knowledge, technology and innovation,” Paterson said.
The Highland Avenue plant, formerly known as Globe Metallurgical, re-opened under a 2008 agreement with Empire State and the Power Authority that calls for the new management group to receive 40 MW of hydropower during a five-year period with an option for a five-year expansion beyond the initial timeframe. In addition, the company is eligible for up to $25 million in Empire Zone benefits for up to a decade, provided it achieves specific employment and investment targets.
In return, state officials are expecting the company to pursue an expansion project that will result in the creation of a total of 500 jobs at the plant. As part of its second phase of development, Globe will demolish a portion of the existing Highland Avenue site to make way for the construction of a $35 million, 100,000-square-foot facility. The company intends to use the new facility to convert its main product — metallurgical grade silicon — into a higher grade material for use by the solar panel industry.
“We’re not just talking about the renewable energy industry,” said Mayor Paul Dyster. “We’re doing it. It’s happening right here, right now in Niagara Falls.”
Under its deal with the state, Globe also will allow Empire State Development to offer solar manufacturers up to 25 percent of its upgraded product at reduced prices as an incentive for them to relocate to New York. The project represents one of the state’s first ever “green-to-green” incentive initiatives as hydropower is being used to produce silicon that is being offered at a cut rate to solar cell manufacturers. Such agreements are aimed at expanding “clean” energy industries in Western New York and other parts of the state. State officials said Oregon-based solar cell manufacturer, SpectraWatt, Inc., has agreed to set up its first factory in Dutchess County after receiving an option to purchase 200 metric tons of Globe’s silicon each year.
“We’ve got to find the most creative ways to save ourselves during this most difficult time,” Paterson said. “The vulnerability of some of our traditional fuel sources is going to have to be combated by our developing clean and renewable energy sources.”
As the company prepares to build its new facility, Globe will concentrate on producing metallurgical grade silicon which it intends to sell to other companies that use the material in production of aluminum products. Globe expects to produce roughly 30,000 tons of the material each year.
Globe officials insisted that a sizable portion of the company’s investment to date involved upgrading equipment to ensure that their Highland Avenue plant will not be a source of concern for the surrounding neighborhood.
“The new management spared no expense to make sure that the plant meets and beats all required standards and will continue to do so,” said Alan Kestenbaum, the founder and executive chairman of Globe Specialty Metals.
Arden Sims, Globe’s chief operating officer and the former owner of the Globe Metallurgical operation, said the manufacturing process employed by his company is similar in nature to that of its predecessor, but said “significant” improvements have been made to the equipment since the facility last operated. He said the process employed by the company would be “clean” and noted that the factory operates under all applicable state and federal clean air and health standards and has taken steps to make sure it is exceeding those standards.
“We want this to be the cleanest silicon plant in the world and we believe it is,” he said.
