Three Niagara Falls Manufacturers
Receive Low-Cost Niagara Hydropower Allocations for 139 New Jobs and
Nearly $20 Million in Capital Investment
Contact:
Michael Saltzman
914-390-8181
michael.saltzman@nypa.gov
May 20, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA)
today announced that three Niagara Falls manufacturers whose
products and services include body armor for the military, crystals
for jewelry and heat treatment of materials for advanced car
batteries will receive low-cost hydropower from NYPA's Niagara Power
Project in return for 139 new jobs and a combined capital investment
of nearly $20 million.
The NYPA Trustees today approved allocations
totaling 6,200 kilowatts (kw) to Saint Gobain–Advanced Ceramics,
Ceres Crystal Industries and Ashland Advanced Materials, a new
company. The companies are the latest of nearly 140 Western New York
employers to benefit from Niagara hydropower, which is among the
least cost electricity in the country.
“It is critical that we maximize the considerable
cost benefits of hydropower to fortify industries and spur
additional jobs in Western New York, and these allocations
demonstrate my Administration’s commitment to do just that,” said
Governor David A. Paterson. “Low-cost Niagara hydropower is
fundamental to the region’s economy, providing a significant
competitive advantage to a wide range of businesses. The latest
allocations will strengthen Western New York’s manufacturing base
and help bring about job growth and investments.”
"The Niagara project is a critical component of
Western New York’s economy, with more than 45,000 jobs directly
linked to its low-cost power, or about 70 percent of the
manufacturing jobs in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area,” said Roger B.
Kelley, NYPA president and chief executive officer. “These latest
power allocations are an example of our continuing efforts to
support Governor Paterson’s upstate economic development agenda.”
The Western New York Advisory Group (WNAG),
consisting of the Power Authority, National Grid, Empire State
Development Corp. (ESDC), the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and the
Niagara County Center for Economic Development, supported the latest
allocations. The WNAG was established in 2003 to help identify
companies for available Niagara power.
Saint-Gobain Ceramics will receive an allocation of
700 kw in support of an expansion that will lead to the addition of
14 new jobs to a current work force of 178. The company, whose
ceramic products include armor materials for protecting U.S.
soldiers, has received previous Niagara allocations for which it is
planning to add 21 other jobs.
Saint-Gobain is constructing an additional building
at 23 Acheson Drive, with plans for a new furnace and other
additional equipment. The latest allocation of low-cost hydropower
is key to the company’s designating the Niagara Falls operation for
expanded production.
Ceres Crystal Industries will receive an allocation
of 2,000 kw for an expansion that will double its Niagara Falls
workforce at 2250 Liberty Drive from 50 to 100. The company, which
manufactures zirconia crystal for the gem-cutting industry, is
adding 21,000 square feet of space to accommodate a new product line
that will require the purchase of three new furnaces and additional
material-handling equipment.
Ashland Advanced Materials, which will operate out
of facilities vacated in 2001 by SGL Carbon at 6200 Niagara Falls
Boulevard, will receive an allocation of 3,500 kw. The py’s plans
call for the creation of 75 jobs and investment of $8.5 million for
manufacturing graphite products and providing high-temperature,
heat-treating services.
Ashland’s products and services will support the
manufacture of lithium ion batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles,
cell phones and laptop computers; and fuel cells and photovoltaic
solar cells for clean, renewable energy.
The company is also working with ESDC and the
Niagara County Industrial Development Agency for obtaining various
tax credits and other incentives.
The allocations to Saint Gobain, Ceres and Ashland
will come from one of two blocks of Niagara industrial power known
as Expansion Power. The other is called Replacement Power, and
together the two blocks account for about one-third of the
hydroelectric project’s firm generating output.
The Niagara project is New York State’s single
largest source of electricity, providing about 10 percent of the
state’s power.
About NYPA:
■ NYPA uses no tax money or
state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of
bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of
electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting
energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric
transportation initiatives. ■ It is the
nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating
facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400
circuit-miles of transmission lines.
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