Experienced Electrical Engineer

By George Pyle – BUFFALO NEWS - May 05, 2010

 Two Western New York companies are among those receiving 25 grants from a state agency to help develop and bring to market products that promise to improve the clean generation and storage of energy.

Graphene Devices of Amherst and Precision Electro Minerals of Niagara Falls have been notified that they are to receive awards from a pool totaling $11.3 million from the state’s Regional Greenhouse Gas cap and trade auction and the Systems Benefit Charge funds.

Graphene Devices is to receive funding for developing a process that will manufacture films consisting of a one-atom-thick layer of carbon that should be able to replace higher-cost materials in the manufacture of solar power cells. It and six other companies will divide up a total of $4.1 million in product development funds.

Precision Electro Minerals is one of 13 firms and colleges that are to split $2.6 million allocated for feasibility studies. The company is studying the practicality of a new process for making solar-grade silicon. The grants are allocated by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and in each case are to be matched by private investment, for a total of $22.6 million in project investment. They were selected from 71 proposals received.

“The products that emerge from these initiatives will help create jobs and develop the tools needed to help us mitigate our impact on the environment for the next generation,” Gov. David A. Paterson said in a statement.

The exact amount to be received by each developer is not made public at this stage of the process, officials said, because contract talks are ongoing. In many cases, authority officials said, contracts will include a requirement that the grants be repaid once the products involved become profitable.

gpyle@buffnews.com

By George Pyle – Buffalo News - January 19, 2010

An industrial park under development in the Town of Tonawanda has been rebranded as New York’s first “solar ready” commercial development, as its owners Monday celebrated the signing of a deal expected to bring Chinese know-how and investment to the site.

Leaders of TM Montante Development, the owners of the newly renamed Riverview Solar Technology Park, and the Shanghai New Energy Industry Association held a ceremonial signing of a memorandum of understanding Monday morning at the offices of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership in downtown Buffalo.

The text of the memo was not made public, but it was described by leaders of both parties as a promise and plan to link the renewable energy industries of China, where 35 percent of the world’s solar energy modules are made, and Western New York, where solar and other renewable energy sources are seen as an environmentally responsible route to economic renewal.

In addition to its previous designation as a “shovel ready” development site by state officials, meaning that it has already received its environmental and development permits, Montante Development President Thomas M. Montante said the project will be “solar ready.”

Fifty of the park’s 180 acres, which sit along River Road northeast of the South Grand Island Bridge, will be set aside for solar energy collectors that will generate 10 megawatts of power for use on site.

That power, together with the area’s availability of pollution- free hydropower from the New York Power Authority, means park businesses not only can make products that do not create greenhouse gas emissions but also can make them in an environment that is pollution- free.

“We intend to be New York’s leader in solar development,” Montante said. “Energy and the environment are at the forefront of the battle for attracting and retaining business throughout the country. We decided to address this reality with a strategy of integrating solar as an enhancement of our core business.”

The Shanghai organization is a consortium of about 300 member companies from the Shanghai area’s renewable energy sector, which also maintains an office in San Jose, Calif. Its executive vice chairwoman, Yeu Mi, signed the document Monday on behalf of the association.

“I am 100 percent confident in this new era of energy development in New York State,” Mi said through a translator. “We are going to develop our products not only in the United States but in the whole world.”

A link between the two parties was provided by Daniel Montante, son of the company president and a director of Montante Development, who is a veteran of four years of business experience in Shanghai as an acquisitions and mergers representative for DuPont.

The younger Montante said the Riverview development plan allows a form of commerce that does not demand so much of a sacrifice from nature and forms a cooperative rather than a competitive relationship with growing Chinese businesses.

“We look forward to progressive and productive relations that will benefit both parties,” he said.

Also on hand to praise the agreement were State Sen. George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane, and Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, D-Town of Tonawanda.

“You have picked the right partners,” Maziarz said to the Shanghai delegation, “and you have picked the right location.”

State economic development officials announced recently that the state had awarded a $1 million grant to the Town of Tonawanda for its Riverwalk East Park Connector project to build roads and utility services for the Montante project and for the town-owned North Youngmann Commerce Center nearby.

gpyle@buffnews.com

May 7, 2009

BUFFALO—In its effort to promote renewable energy technologies throughout New York State and in response to Governor Paterson’s call to expand New York’s renewable energy portfolio, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) today joined with the University at Buffalo (UB) to announce a major, multi-million dollar award to the university to construct a 1.1 megawatt solar energy array on UB’s North (Amherst) Campus. The solar array, consisting of approximately 5,000 photovoltaic panels, will generate clean energy directly from the sun for students living in UB’s apartment complexes.

NYPA will work with UB to provide site design, engineering and construction services for this project.

The award to UB will serve as a cornerstone of NYPA’s $21 million statewide renewable energy program and will advance the UB 2020 strategic plan’s focus on making the university’s three campuses great places to live, work and learn, in part by improving their environmental sustainability. 

It will be the largest solar installation on any college or university campus in New York State and one of the largest on any campus in the United States, according to the American Solar Energy Society.

“This partnership between NYPA and UB exemplifies how New York State is poised to become the leader in this new energy economy,” said Governor David A. Paterson. “This project also demonstrates my Administration’s commitment to achieving the clean energy goals of the ambitious ’45 by 15’ program, which will create clean energy jobs throughout New York State, and result in greater energy independence and a cleaner environment.”

Richard M. Kessel, NYPA president and chief executive officer, said, “NYPA is committed to investing in Western New York, and the University at Buffalo is the perfect partner for promoting, developing, educating and training in photovoltaic technologies for a cleaner environment, energy independence and green-collar jobs.

“Through this project, NYPA is making great strides in advancing Governor Paterson’s ‘45 by 15’ initiative, which sets a date of 2015 by which New York State is to meet 45 percent of its electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and clean renewable energy.” 

According to NYPA, UB’s North Campus solar array will reduce carbon emissions at UB by more than 500 metric tons per year.

Designed to produce 1.1 megawatts (1.1 million watts) of electricity, the UB solar array is expected to be operating by fall 2010.  It will provide power to UB’s Flint, Hadley, South Lake and Creekside Village apartments, a total of 735 apartments, housing nearly 2,000 undergraduate and graduate UB students.

According to NYPA, the UB solar array will be specially designed to operate in a cold weather environment and to withstand heavy snowfall, serving as a benchmark for future systems in similar climates. In doing so, the UB/NYPA project will promote the development of innovative solar technologies.

As a result of this project, Western New York could become a new center for green-collar jobs, as the UB/NYPA partnership includes collaborations with the university and area colleges to start training and certifying personnel in the installation of solar panels.

UB President John B. Simpson said UB “takes great pleasure in accepting this exciting award from the New York Power Authority.”

“This award not only recognizes UB’s long record of environmental leadership, but it commits us to a greener, more sustainable future that is exactly in keeping with the goals of UB 2020 and Building UB,” he said.

“By helping us generate our own power on campus, this solar array helps us take a significant step toward meeting one of the primary goals of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, in which the university has pledged to go ‘climate-neutral,’” Simpson added.

Combined with existing clean energy purchases, this project puts UB well past the 15 percent interim renewable energy target set for signatories of the Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

Simpson noted that the project also will foster UB education and research with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in the area of renewable energy. It will provide students and researchers with the opportunity to study and track the real-time functioning of an on-site clean energy system. The system will include a data acquisition feature that will be especially useful in research and education.

New York State Senator Michael H. Ranzenhofer, said, “As a graduate of SUNY at Buffalo, I am very supportive of the solar panel project which will be one of the largest solar projects in New York State.”

New York State Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, said, “This joint project between NYPA and UB will prove to be a blueprint for other campuses across the nation.  UB once again is spearheading a new era in WNY as we look to conserve energy, reduce carbon emissions and generate green collar jobs.”

Contrary to the conventional wisdom about Buffalo’s weather, data from the National Weather Service shows that from May through November, Buffalo is the sunniest and driest city in the Northeast, making it an ideal candidate for generating solar power.

The project will give many UB students the unique experience of living in apartments where their electricity is provided not by the burning of fossil fuels hundreds of miles away but by the clean, renewable power of the sun here on campus with virtually no greenhouse gas emissions, Simpson noted. 

UB student Emily Bauer, member of the UB Environmental Stewardship Committee and a delegate to the State University of New York Student Assembly, said she and her fellow students look forward to construction of the solar array on UB’s campus.

“Climate change is one of the biggest problems facing the next generation and is of great concern to UB students,” she said. “By stepping up as a leader in solar energy, UB has shown it is committed to a bright future for our environment.”

State Senator Antoine Thompson said the NYPA/Buffalo partnership is a step forward for green energy in Western New York. “As Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, I have been focused on making Buffalo an epicenter for green initiatives,” Thompson noted. “An institution of the size of UB making the decision to run on solar panels instead of electricity is a step in the right direction.  Conserving energy and resources in this way benefits the environment greatly.”

The new solar installation at UB will be the largest ground-mounted PV system in New York State.

Its 5,000 panels will be installed on or adjacent to the North Campus grounds of the Melvin H. Baker Chilled Water Plant on Flint Road, which delivers utility services to the 1,200- acre suburban campus.

This will be UB’s second solar electric system; in 2006, UB installed a 73.5 kilowatt demonstration solar system on top of Norton Hall, which provides at least 6 percent of that building’s power.

By Nancy Gish – - SOUTHTOWNS CORRESPONDENT- BFLO NEWS – Jan 16, 2010

The Elma Town Board on Wednesday heard a presentation from a solar panel consulting company seeking the town’s business to install solar panels on property behind Town Hall on Bowen Road.

Supervisor Michael Nolan initially asked the board to consider solar panels on the roof of Town Hall but TVGA, a local engineering company, suggested the panels be installed on the ground behind Town Hall.

Grant money is available for the project through stimulus aid and no town funds would be required. However, TVGA, which would build the infrastructure to contain the panels, suggested the town pay for 10 percent of the project to speed up the grant process.

The consulting company, NYSOL, would procure the products, do the grant writing and hire the installers.

The goal is to reduce Town Hall electrical use by 15 percent by 2015 while increasing renewable energy, promote climate protection and support green innovation and the economy. Excess power generated by the panels would go back into the grid, officials said during the board’s workshop session.

The town would see a $6,000 saving in its electric bill and reap renewable energy credits. The project would employ about 100 16-square-foot solar panels.

Nolan, long a proponent of the panels, said, “We need to be proactive with energy efficiency. It is a lot to gain for the local taxpayer. It’s an investment in the future.”

However, Councilman Dean Puleo is not so sure.

“The whole idea is very distasteful to me,” he said. “It is clearly not cost-effective and is a horrible investment. . . .”

He said the $120,000 cost would take the town 20 years to recoup at the estimated electrical savings of $6,000 a year.

The issue will be on the agenda when the board meets on Wednesday.

By John Sawyer and Michael Sawyer

Buffalo News - 5/5/09 - Another Voice / Energy production

In his recent speech about the economy, President Obama called for “new investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and new industries.”

Here in Western New York, one example of this environmentally and economically sustainable energy future is in the Town of Shelby.

Opened in 2007, the Western New York Energy plant produces more than 50 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol a year. In addition, the plant produces three valuable co-products: 160,000 tons of high-quality distillers grains; 1.5 million gallons of crude corn oil, which is used for biodiesel; and 100,000 tons of food-grade carbon dioxide, which is used for beverage carbonation, food processing and other industrial applications. The plant provides more than 40 well-paying jobs, from chemists and engineers to operators and managers, and creates new markets for local grain farmers and a valuable feed product for dairy and cattle farmers.

Throughout the nation, the ethanol industry is making progress economically and environmentally. In 2008, American ethanol producers supplied more than 9.2 billion gallons of clean-burning ethanol, equivalent to 7 percent of the domestic gasoline supply. This record production supported nearly 500,000 jobs. It added $21 billion in tax payments to federal, state and local coffers. It displaced 321 million barrels of imported oil — equal to 10 months of imports from Venezuela.

Between 2001 and 2006, water consumption at U. S. ethanol plants decreased by 27 percent, electricity use dropped by 16 percent and total energy utilization declined by 22 percent. For instance, the Shelby plant uses only about 2.5 gallons of water for each gallon of ethanol that is produced — an even lower rate than the average of three gallons of water for one gallon of ethanol in the entire industry.

Improvements in current ethanol technologies can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 60 percent compared to gasoline. New technologies hold the potential for even greater climate benefits, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. With an abundance of “biomass” — wood wastes, fast-growing trees, corn stalks and other materials that are usually discarded — New York is poised to be a leader in renewable fuel production.

For example, researchers at the State University of New York School of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse are developing technologies to grow, harvest and convert fast-growing poplar trees into renewable fuels. Others are looking at garbage, grasses and other waste materials.

Increasing domestic production of clean-burning and low-cost renewable fuels from a wide array of technologies and feedstocks will reduce our reliance on imported oil and expand economic opportunities, just as is happening in Orleans County today.

John Sawyer is the chief executive officer of Western New York Energy. His son Michael is the executive vice president.

Upon completion, Buffalo Recycling Enterprises LLC’s new 80,000 square-foot recycling plant will house 40 to 45 employees on two shifts.

Bill Wippert/Buffalo News

By Jonathan D. Epstein – BUFFALO NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER- 5/04/09

Construction on a new recycling facility in South Buffalo is well underway and “moving forward,” with plans calling for completion of the $15 million project and opening of the plant by July 1, one of the company’s owners said this week.

Buffalo Recycling Enterprises LLC is building a 39,500-square-foot addition to an existing 26,000- square-foot waste handling facility at 266 Hopkins Street, just off Tifft Street.

That includes installation of a $10 million, state-of-the-art, “single-stream” recycling system that can handle a range of materials — newspaper, cardboard, cans, bottles, milk jugs, cottage cheese containers, pizza boxes and even pots and pans.

Such a system allows consumers to toss all recyclable materials into a single bin at the curb and have them automatically separated at the plant. That eliminates the time-consuming need for people to separate them at the curb for pickup, and also reduces the pickup time for the trucks to seconds instead of minutes, said John Hawthorne, principal and managing partner of Buffalo Recycling.

“Just put anything in the curbside bin,” he said. “Don’t separate it. Don’t tie it together.”

Workers have already cleared the back of the property, laid the concrete walls for the foundation of the new building, and are leveling and preparing the ground for the arrival of the steel beams shortly. In the meantime, the green recycling machines are already on site, and many of the pieces have been installed for the two-story system, including some sorters and conveyor belts.

Upon completion, the 80,000 square-foot building will house 40 to 45 employees on two shifts, with multiple belts and recycling lines running at once. All are new positions, to be filled locally, Hawthorne said.

The company already hired a general manager, Clarence resident and retired Navy commander Greg Gjurich, and will hold a job fair on site May 30. Positions include sorters, forklift operators and heavy equipment drivers, as well as clerical, maintenance and supervisory staff.

But the real focus for the 51- year-old Hawthorne is the bigger picture — encouraging and increasing recycling efforts in Buffalo and the Western New York area. The plant will not be limited in its market area.

“We’re very passionate about it,” he said. “Our effort is to put a curbside recycling bin in every home in America. Our goal is to make the recycling pie bigger. If we do that, everybody wins.”

Currently, residents in Buffalo recycle 10.5 percent of their trash, or 12,500 tons last year, including yard waste. That’s an improvement over past levels, and basically meets the city’s initial target of achieving a double- digit rate. It’s now ranked 14th for medium-sized cities nationwide, city officials say.

But it’s well below the state’s standards. Hawthorne and city officials are betting that the construction of a single-stream curbside recycling facility within the city will help.

“We think it’s a great thing,” said city public works commissioner Stephen Stepniak. “When you’ve got members of your community working at a recycling plant, that helps promote it.”

The city currently contracts with Allied Waste in Tonawanda, but it’s putting its contract out for bid, with the goal of going to single-stream and doing more to promote recycling. Hawthorne said the introduction of single-stream in a community typically boosts recycling rates by 50 percent.

“Single-stream seems to be working all over the country, and that’s the direction we’re going in,” Stepniak said. “When people talk about recycling, they tend to recycle more.”

Just for good measure, the company plans to construct a mezzanine level with a conference room, visitors’ center and educational program for schoolchildren. “We’re trying to change hearts and minds about recycling,” Hawthorne said.

Buffalo Recycling is a partnership formed by individuals in the waste and recycling industry, including from Niagara Falls-based waste hauler Modern Corp. and from Great Lakes International Recycling of Roseville, Mich. Hawthorne and Gary E. Smith from Modern are the managing partners.

The new venture is not owned by or tied to either firm, said Hawthorne, who is chief operating officer of Great Lakes. Modern operates a recycling facility in Lewiston, while Great Lakes runs operations in North Tonawanda and Michigan.

However, Buffalo Recycling is much larger and newer than those facilities, and is focused only on single-stream “curbside” recycling from consumers, delivered by waste haulers. It will not handle commercial recycling and will not be a drop-off site.

Buffalo Recycling will make money by selling the materials back to paper mills, corrugated mills, steel and aluminum smelters, and plastics regrinders. The materials are commodities, so the higher the market value, the more the company will earn.

The new facility will be capable of processing 10,000 tons a month, using a series of optical sensors, magnets, filters and screens to separate the materials into their respective categories. That’s more than twice the capacity of most facilities.

Trucks will dump their loads outside the building, directly onto the first belts, which will carry the material through a series of rubber “star screens,” sorters and magnets that separate fiber materials like paper from bottles and cans.

An optical sorting machine will use infrared beams to take a molecular picture of every piece of plastic so it can identify what category it belongs in. The computer will then turn on a series of air jets on the belt that will shoot each piece into the proper direction for the next stage.

The various materials are then dropped into separate bunkers, which will open up one at a time to send their contents along a belt to a baler machine that compacts it into cubes and ties it up for transport.

“This facility is the absolute cutting-edge,” Hawthorne said.

jepstein@buffnews.com

Paul Iskalo, founder and CEO of Iskalo Development Corp., stands on the site of a 82,000-square-foot, multi-tenant office building under construction on North Forest Road in Amherst.

Developer seeks LEED certificationfor Amherst project

By Jonathan D. Epstein -BUFFALO NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER 6/1/2009

Paul B. Iskalo’s new multi-tenant office building on North Forest Road should be ready for occupancy in late fall, even as the Williamsville developer prepares to start a new project at the former Kane Doyle Jeep Eagle dealership in Kenmore.

The 82,000-square-foot, three-story office building at 2410 N. Forest Road is under construction. The $15 million project is located next to the University Ramada Inn, at the intersection with John J. Audubon Parkway, next to the University at Buffalo’s North Campus.

The new building will feature an atrium on the third floor, where law firm HoganWillig will be located, and an on-site fitness center. It also will have an additional underground level for 50 enclosed parking spaces, with a self-service car wash in the basement.

And it will share additional surface parking with the Ramada, since the office building and hotel operate at different peak times of the day and week.

Most significantly, though, Iskalo Development Corp. is seeking to obtain “silver” certification for the building under the guidelines of the U. S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

That would give it a much-desired, Earth-friendly stamp of approval for its tenants, and make it the area’s first LEED-certified multi-tenant office building, Iskalo said.

It’s “affirmation that we made the right choices,” he said. It “will be of interest to those progressive businesses that understand that their corporate facilities play a critical role in maximizing the productivity of their employees which represent their greatest investment.”

Specifically, the new project will feature underfloor air distribution, with diffusers that allow convection to take the air up and clear away contaminants instead of using forced air through ceiling vents.

Ten-foot ceilings will also be standard throughout the building, with floor-to-ceiling glass to allow natural light to penetrate to the center. Office lights will dim during the day to conserve power, but ambient light sensors will activate them when it gets dark at night or because of storms. And the building comes with full backup power.

“We tried to go after the features and amenities that would show the most benefit for our tenants,” said Jonathan Gill, Iskalo’s marketing manager.

Also, Iskalo hopes to start work this summer on a mixed-use medical office and retail building in the former Kane Doyle dealership on Delaware Avenue, near Kenmore Avenue.

Plans call for putting up a 21,000-square-foot, two-story building at 2780 Delaware Avenue, with the facility and a surrounding L-shaped parking lot occupying the entire block in the Village of Kenmore. The firm is negotiating with several medical practices and prospective retail tenants, but has not lined any up, Iskalo said.

Iskalo also owns three-fourths of the next block, but has no plans yet for that space. “As demand warrants, we’ll put a second building up,” he said.

Finally, he’s still trying to finish leasing space at the recently completed $4.5 million medical office building at 52 South Union Road in Williamsville.

Both the North Forest and South Union projects received tax benefits from the Amherst Industrial Development Agency. So far, the North Forest building’s only signed occupant is HoganWillig, which will move its approximately 80 employees, including 28 attorneys, from directly across the street.

The law firm will expand from its 16,000 square feet now to 28,000 square feet, gaining more room and the ability to grow to 100 employees.

“It’s exciting on a lot of different fronts,” said Diane Tiveron, managing partner. “We need more room, there’s no doubt about it. But we do foresee expansion as well.”

The trio of projects mark the latest development efforts by the 42-year-old Iskalo, a Kenmore native who got his start in real estate while a student at University of Rochester.

Perhaps most visible among his projects is the Electric Tower downtown. Iskalo purchased the 14-story former office of Niagara Mohawk in 2004 and began renovations in 2006 after the utility moved out. It was rededicated, with a restored lobby, in August 2007. The building is 60 percent occupied.

jepstein@buffnews.com

By Jonathan D. Epstein – BUFFALO NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER 06/30/09

A Williamsville firm will handle most of the work on a $7.5 million contract to install a massive solar panel system at the University at Buffalo, designed to provide “green” energy to student apartments, the New York Power Authority said Monday.

Solar Liberty will work in conjunction with a Canadian firm to set up the system, which officials called the largest solar installation at any college or university in the state, and one of the largest on any U. S. campus.

It’s part of a new emphasis by the Power Authority and the state on renewable energy, and on lessening the state’s dependence on fossil fuels, officials said. And it will lead to the creation of what officials called “green” jobs that can’t be exported overseas.

The proposed contract, which still faces approval by the Power Authority board, calls for the installation of a 1.1-megawatt solar photovoltaic system on UB’s North Campus in Amherst. The project includes about 5,000 solar panels that will generate 1.3 million kilowatt hours of energy annually. That will power 735 apartments at UB’s Flint Village, housing more than 2,000 students. One megawatt typically powers 1,000 homes.

The contract, which was subject to competitive bidding, will technically be awarded to Simcoe, Ont.- based DeCloet Greenhouse Manufacturing. However, 80 percent of the contract, or up to $6 million, will go to Solar Liberty.

Power Authority President and CEO Richard Kessel said Monday that he will ask the authority’s board to approve the contract for Solar Liberty at the board’s regular meeting today, to be held at the Niagara Power Project’s Power Vista in Lewiston. Although the decision is not yet final, Kessel said he had spoken to many of the directors and said they are in favor.

“They think this is exactly what the Power Authority should be doing,” said Kessel. “This is the first of many projects we’ll be doing in Western New York.”

Under the contract, Solar Liberty, headquartered at 6225 Sheridan Drive in the Sheridan Meadows office complex, will purchase the panels and other equipment and provide the local labor to install the ground-mounted system. DeCloet, a greenhouse maker with expertise in laying fields of equipment in the ground, will provide technical expertise and supervision, but the work will be handled by Solar Liberty.

The panels will be installed at four feet off the ground, at a pitched angle facing south, and will occupy six acres near the campus’ chilling plant. Each panel is about 15 square feet. They can generate electricity even through a few inches of snow, but the top surface is glass with no friction so snow will slide off with a little heat.

Construction could start in August and it’s slated for completion by fall 2010, though Kessel said it could be ready sooner.

Solar Liberty, which employs 14, said it expects to hire another 10 to 15 installation workers, who will be paid between $35 and $50 an hour, as well as some more administrative staff to work in its offices.

The UB project is expected to be the largest ground-mounted solar photovoltaic system in the state. It’s part of a $21 million renewable energy program by the Power Authority that officials said will focus on Western New York and the North Country.

Founded by Rizzo, a UB Law School graduate, and his brother Nathan, Solar Liberty is one of the largest solar electric “integrators” and installers in the state. It serves government, nonprofit, education, commercial and residential customers.

In addition to its main office here, it has an office in Syracuse, and installation crews working around the state. It also serves installers nationally through a wholesale division.

jepstein@buffnews.com

Sunworks Pledges to Create 175 Jobs

By James Heaney - BUFFALO NEWS STAFF REPORTER - 7/01/09 

The state Power Authority has awarded a large block of low-cost hydropower to a fledgling California company that plans to build a plant in Western New York to manufacture solar panels.

Sunworks Solar plans to spend $200 million to build a plant that would employ 175. The New York Power Authority on Tuesday agreed to allocate five megawatts of hydropower, which it will sell to the San Francisco-based company for about one-quarter the market rate.

The plant would build large solar panels for utilities. Pay would range from $40,000 to over $100,000 a year, depending on the position.

Company officials said they have not yet selected a site, but that it would be in Western New York. A construction timetable is also up in the air. Work could start as soon as next spring.

The company was founded last year and does not operate a plant, but is in negotiations to build several in differing locales.

Sunworks Solar would be one of the larger buyers of low-cost hydropower from the authority. The five megawatt allocation is the fifth-largest made by the authority since 2006 and is eight-times larger than the typical allocation made by the authority during that period.

The deal would save the company an estimated $1.6 million a year, or $9,352 per job. By contract, the average deal made by the authority since 2006 provides annual savings of $11,833 per job.

The deal also compares favorably in terms of the amount of private investment the power leverages. On average, deals done by NYPA since 2006 produce $11,451 of investment for each kilowatt allocated. The Sunworks deal would generate nearly four times more investment, or $40,000.

The allocation marks the continuation of a trend by the authority to earmark large blocks of power to green manufacturing concerns.

In recent years, the authority has committed 40 megawatts to Globe Metals, which is refurbishing a plant in Niagara Falls to produce metallurgical-grade silicon for use in the manufacture of solar panels, and five megawatts each to ethanol plants proposed for Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

None of those facilities are operating yet, however. Globe is still overhauling its plant and the ethanol plants are still on the drawing board.

In the meantime, the authority is selling the allocated, but unused power at market rates and keeping the proceeds. U. S. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, is pressing the authority to keep those proceeds in Western New York.

jheaney@buffnews.com

by David Robinson – Buffalo News Business Reporter - 1/31/09

Moog Inc., looking to become a bigger player in the wind energy business, has bought a 70 percent stake in a British company that makes components used in wind turbines, the Elma aerospace company said Friday.

The $16 million deal will expand the line of products that Moog makes for wind turbines, primarily equipment that stops and shuts down the turbines and also regulates their power output.

The newest acquisition, Insensys ltd., makes pitch control and rotor blade monitoring systems. Pitch control systems adjust the angle of the turbine’s blades to improve its efficiency and control its load. Monitoring systems can extend the turbine’s life and reduce maintenance costs.

Insensys had $7.6 million in sales last year.

The deal gives Moog the option to buy the remaining 30 percent of Insensys within the next year. The purchase is not expected to affect Moog’s earnings during the current fiscal year, which ends in October, because of accounting adjustments. Insensys is expected to add about $10.2 million to Moog’s sales during the eight months remaining in Moog’s fiscal year.

Moog executives said earlier this month that they wanted to expand their position in the wind energy industry, which has been growing at about a 20 percent annual rate.

Wind turbines have been steadily getting bigger, now spanning as much as 240-feet in diameter and capable of generating 1.5 megawatts of electricity. That increasing size can create a challenge to control motion on those turbines, Moog executives have said.

“The use of real-time data improves turbine performance and lower’s a wind turbine’s total cost of ownership,” said Steven Huckvale, the president of Moog’s international group.

Moog had about $70 million in energy-related revenues during its previous fiscal year, and the company in June broadened its position in the wind energy industry by acquiring a 40 percent stake in a German company, LTi RE-Energy GmbH, that makes motion control and drive systems used on wind turbines. Moog expects to buy the rest of LTi by summer.

drobinson@buffnews.com