HENRIETTA, N.Y. – The power problem in the town of Henrietta may soon be solved. As News10NBC has previously reported, the town is basically running out of space on the electric grid which has stalled business and residential development for more than a year.
On Monday, Empire State Development announced a $4.7 million state grant to go toward the cost of substation equipment upgrades which will allow RG&E to proceed with the initial phases of expanding capacity. The total price tag of the project is $17 million.
The town and utility say the investment will support future development in Southwest Henrietta by adding more than 50 MW of additional capacity.
“We’ve had a number of projects that have had to be turned away because they can’t get power,” says Henrietta Town Supervisor Steve Shultz, “so, this is a huge step in the right direction and I’ll let you know we are pursuing multiple billions of dollars’ worth of investments in this area.”
There are nearly 1,000 affordable, senior, and family housing opportunities and proposals pending approval in the town of Henrietta that could move forward with the increased power capacity, according to Schultz. Other businesses that have projects on hold include a solar panel manufacturer, research and development for beverage production, advanced manufacturing, and a semi-conductor supply chain company.
“In order to deliver on our promises for housing and jobs, we need to make sure that we have safe, reliable and accessible access to power,” says Senator Jeremy Cooney.
RG&E will cover the rest of the cost and while that’s good news for this town, what about the others?
Jennifer Lewke: “So many towns seem to be having these issues when we’re just talking about housing and business development, let alone some of the upcoming state mandates for electric school buses and public transit. Can you keep up with those mandates and how?”
Trish Nilsen, CEO of RG&E: “That’s where I referenced the nationwide challenge. It’s really something that all utilities and all leaders across the United States are really looking at.”
Jennifer Lewke: “Yeah, but I mean the school bus mandate is coming for us in the next couple of years so, is it even physically possible for our districts right now?”
Trish Nilsen: “I think that’s really something that the state has been looking at in a collaborative approach between NYSERDA, the New York Independent System Operator, the New York Public Service Commission, state government, they’ve really been working on a statewide collaboration to make sure that things are moving in a measured approach and an approach based on the electrification and the school boards ability to make the purchases they need to move forward.”
Jennifer Lewke: I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but I’m asking you kind of a direct question. Do you think that it (implementation of mandate) will be delayed then?
Trish Nilsen: It’s not a decision that’s really mine. I think each of the schools has to figure out their approach for what they can do for electrification and we’ll be hearing more, I’m sure, from the state as we get closer to those deadlines. We are working in concert with all of our schools to make sure that they know what they need to do in terms of their system upgrades and what we need to do in terms of ours. It’s really a case by case basis according to each community.
Whether the timetable on the mandates sticks, it’s clear the utilities will need help in paying for the upgrades, not just from ratepayers but from taxpayers too.
“They (NYS) did this once before up in Webster, they made an investment in the electrical infrastructure up there and that helped secure the Fairlife development in Webster, this is another type of investment in that same type of infrastructure that’s going to help spur investment in Henrietta,” says Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. Bello adds that he’s hoping similar state funding will be available for other towns like Penfield and Brighton that also need to expand grid capacity.
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