Lumber company and others to locate at Madison County Agricultural & Renewable Energy Park.
Johnson Brothers Lumber, a third-generation company based in Cazenovia, New York, is building a kiln that will dry wood next door to Madison County’s landfill-gas-to-energy (LFG) facility in Wampsville, New York, according a local news report from WVRO Public Media.
The energy to dry the wood will come from the methane created by the landfill. Half of the energy from the landfill will be used to create a heat waste that Johnson Brothers will use to power its kilns. The other half of the energy will be returned to the electric grid. Johnson Brothers’ new kilns are expected to be operational by summer 2015.
Madison County Industrial Development Agency Chief, Kip Hicks, says the new business is part of a larger plan to turn 150 acres of property owned by the county’s solid waste department into a business park called the Madison County Agricultural & Renewable Energy (ARE) Park. Hicks says they agency also has been in talks with a C&D recycling company to locate at the park.
In February, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Empire State Development (ESD) is providing Madison County with a $4 million grant to support infrastructure improvements at the Madison County ARE Park.
“By funding vital infrastructure improvements at the Madison County ARE Park, we are investing in a locally-driven project that will support the creation of jobs and new economic opportunities throughout the region,”
Cuomo said at the time. “This project will help revitalize the central New York economy by attracting new companies in the agricultural and renewable energy industries to the area, and I am pleased to help Madison County make the Parks development a reality.”
The $4 million grant is being used to extend municipal water service to the park, which is critical to creating a shovel-ready site for potential businesses. Madison County says it plans to invest as much as $5 million in the $10.3 million project. The state funds will come from NY Works, the governor's infrastructure program which is rebuilding roads, bridges and parks across the state.
The businesses in the park will have access to reliable, locally generated sources of green energy including electrical energy from the LFG facility and a solar energy cap located at the Madison County Landfill.
In addition to Johnson Brothers’ green lumber drying business, a commercial greenhouse has also committed to the site, while a recycling business and a company that converts plastic waste into base petroleum fuels is also set to move into the park.
