New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) has approved up to $35 million in financing to build a 9.6 MW renewable-fueled electric and steam generation facility at Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome, Oneida County, to provide lower priced electric and steam service to tenants in the industrial park. The power plant operator, Griffiss Utility Services Corporation, plans to install a biomass-fueled combined heat and power generation facility at the Griffiss Park. The facility is sized to meet electric and steam needs at the Griffiss Park, where it will supply approximately 75 percent of the Park's electric demand and will replace the existing steam boilers, supplanting them as the source for meeting all steam load requirements. The power plant operator will remain interconnected to National Grid to obtain the remaining 25 percent of its electric needs.
Griffiss Utility is a not-for-profit corporation formed in 2000 for the purpose of assisting Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC), the operator of the Griffiss Park, in fulfilling its purpose of promoting economic development in the Rome, New York region.
Griffiss Park, a 3,500-acre complex containing approximately 80 buildings and 29 miles of road, formerly operated as a United States Air Force Base. The closure of most of the base beginning in 1995 adversely affected the local economy in the Rome region. GLDC was created to operate the Griffiss Park at the base in an effort to promote economic activity that would reverse the adverse effects of the closure.
