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Waste disposal company to invest $1.9M, create jobs on city's east side

By Joanne Beck

A company that has set up camp on Cedar Street in Batavia has been awarded a $100,000 Empire State Development grant and $180,000 in excelsior jobs tax credits to manufacture its waste disposal systems as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $27 million financial package announced this week.

Enercon Systems, Inc., doing business as Eco Waste Solutions, lists addresses in Ontario, Canada and at 109 Cedar St., Batavia. The company has been setting up at the Cedar Street site for a while now, with plans to manufacture its high-tech and climate-friendly waste disposal systems at the site. 

According to its website, Enercon Systems (dba Eco Waste Solutions USA) was a pioneer in waste conversion and built some of the first small to medium-scale (200 to 600 ton per day) energy-from-waste facilities in North America. Enercon focused on producing simple, practical, and robust systems. Some of these plants operated for more than 40 years, making them some of the longest-lived waste-to-energy plants ever built in the US.

Enercon technologies have been proven to efficiently process almost any type of waste, including medical and pharmaceutical waste, industrial sludges, soils, and contaminated wood, and have diverted millions of tons of waste from landfills and produced thousands of megawatts of power, the site states.

Eco Waste Solutions (EWS) acquired Enercon in 2016. The Enercon tried, and true waste-to-energy system designs have now been modeled in 3D, modernized to include the latest technological advances, and have received new patents for improved energy recovery and emissions control, the site states. The modernized Enercon WTE designs can be produced under a license with EWS. The EWS Team can support a project developer to plan, manufacture, and implement a waste-to-energy project.

Enercon also has become Eco Waste’s US manufacturing division – the site of the production of our equipment packages, and is actively involved in waste-to-energy research and development, it states.

According to Hochul's press release, Enercon's mobile waste disposal systems are typically used in remote locations where traditional systems and infrastructure are not available.

Enercon, currently headquartered in Ohio, will establish New York operations in a vacant building on Cedar Street in Batavia, outfit the building with new machinery and equipment and create nine new jobs. The press release did not mention the Cedar Street address; however, it is listed on Enercon’s website, and The Batavian has spoken with an employee at the local site in the past week.

Enercon Systems is making a planned investment of $1.9 million, according to the press release. 

The remaining $27 million Hochul package was dispersed throughout other parts of New York State for various projects, from an industrial lighting project and dairy cooperative to a steel fabricator and multimedia production studio. 

The Regional Economic Development Council process continues to support and empower regional stakeholders in developing strategic plans and funding priorities that meet local economic needs, the press release states. To date, through the REDC Initiative, more than $7.8 billion has been awarded to more than 9,600 job creation and economic and community development projects consistent with each region's strategic plan.

The application for ESD grant funds remains open, and applications are being reviewed on an on-going basis as funds remain available.  Applicants with strong, shovel-ready projects that align with the state and region’s economic development priorities can apply through the Consolidated Funding Application.

About the Consolidated Funding Application              
The Consolidated Funding Application was created to streamline and expedite the grant application process. The CFA process marks a fundamental shift in the way state resources are allocated, ensuring less bureaucracy and greater efficiency to fulfill local economic development needs. The CFA serves as the single-entry point for access to economic development funding, ensuring applicants no longer have to slowly navigate multiple agencies and sources without any mechanism for coordination. Now, economic development projects use the CFA as a support mechanism to access multiple state funding sources through one application, making the process quicker, easier, and more productive. Learn more about the CFA here

About the Regional Economic Development Councils  
The Regional Economic Development Council initiative is a key component of the State’s approach to State investment and economic development. In 2011, 10 Regional Councils were established to develop long-term strategic plans for economic growth for their regions. The Councils are public-private partnerships made up of local experts and stakeholders from business, academia, local government, and non-governmental organizations. The Regional Councils have redefined the way New York invests in jobs and economic growth by putting in place a community-based, bottom-up approach and establishing a competitive process for State resources. Learn more at regionalcouncils.ny.gov.

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