EBP Tops List of Area Economic Development Projects

Excerpts from the Finger Lakes Economic Development Council proposal submitted on November 14:

• The region’s top priority is to maintain and expand Eastman Business Park in Rochester as a pivotal regional economic development resource. In this plan, the council has identified two potential ways to do this. One will create a cluster of cleantech businesses at Eastman Business Park led by U.S. Renewables Group. In five years, this project is projected to create 1,200 jobs directly and an equal number indirectly.The centerpiece of this initiative is a new $300 million state-of-the-art bio-fuel generating plant.

• A second project will create an advanced energy storage commercialization center at Eastman Business Park. The NY-BEST Commercialization Center will involve more than 80 companies from across NewYork State and provide critical testing and manufacturing facilities necessary to develop the next generation of fuel cells. If located in the Finger Lakes region, this initiative is expected to create 223 direct jobs in the state during the first five years of operation.