ReEnergy Lyonsdale plant here yesterday with employees and fuel suppliers to discuss the challenges currently facing the facility. The facility, located on a 46-acre site, uses biomass as fuel to produce approximately 162,000 net megawatt-hours of electricity each year — enough to supply about 21,000 homes, according to it's website. At ReEnergy Lyonsdale, steam is produced to generate electricity, which is sold directly to customers such as utilities and energy services companies. The facility also provides process steam to an adjacent manufacturer. The 22 megawatt facility, which opened in 1992, was acquired by ReEnergy in March of 2011, the website states. ReEnergy has invested significantly in the facility to improve its efficiency and performance, and is an important corporate citizen in the North Country, as it provides direct jobs at the facility, indirect jobs associated with the use of the forest residue fuel supply, and additional jobs tied to local goods and services related to the facility. We spoke with ReEnergy Holdings LLC Chief Executive Officer, Larry Richardson, this afternoon regarding the future of the facility and the meeting held yesterday. According to Mr.Richardson, the plant currently has 22 direct employees and supports as many as 100 additional jobs in the fuel supply chain. The facility has an annual impact of $15 million to $20 million in the area, Mr. Richardson told us. "ReEnergy Lyonsdale may be forced into closure if a path to sustainability isn't reached within the next 60 - 90 days," Mr. Richardson said. "We are hoping that with support from the State we can stay in operation in the near term while a renewable energy program is put into place by the State," he continued. The State's program may not be in place for another two years we were told. "New York State has high goals with renewable energy," Sarah Boggess, Communications Director with ReEnergy Holdings LLC said. "Governor Cuomo recently announced a goal that 50% of the State's energy be renewable by 2030," she added. Low oil and fuel prices throughout the Northeastern United States have significantly decreased the price the facility can charge for its electricity. According to Mr. Richardson, the Lyons Falls plant lost over one million dollars last year, and with prices even lower this year a solution must be found to keep the plant open. Fuel providers were notified that beginning March 1st there will be a 20% decrease in the price paid to suppliers in order to absorb some of the losses at the facility. The plants employees were also made aware that the possibility of the plant closing in the near future certainly exits. Mr. Richardson and Ms. Boggess met with Lewis County officials today to discuss the of future ReEnergy Lyonsdale and also have met with NY State legislators and other NY State officials on the matter in the last twenty-four hours they said. “ReEnergy is an important piece of our local economy. They support 22 direct jobs and approximately 50 loggers, 12 of which are in Lewis County. New York State is committed to renewables, so it would seem logical to continue to support ReEnergy. Lewis County will be working with the company and local and state officials to see what can be done to keep the company here and viable for the long term,” Lewis County Manager Elizabeth Swearingin told us via email. ReEnery Holdings LLC also operates ReEnergy Black River on Fort Drum. We were told that the Fort Drum facility is not feeling quite the same impact as the Lyons Falls plant, in part because of the base contract with Fort Drum that supplies 100% of the military post's electricity. The contract with Fort Drum accounts for 40% of the ReEnergy Black River plant's output according to Mr. Richardson. We will be receiving updates on the status of the ReEnergy Lyonsdale plant to pass along throughout the process. |
| ReEnergy Lyonsdale Could Face Closure if Path to Sustainability Isn't Reached 02/17/16 04:30pm |
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