Green County IDA welcomes CMW to the Greene Accelerator

Greene County IDA has welcomed the Catskill Mountain Wind Management, Inc. (CMW) to the Greene Accelerator. CMW is focused on the marketing, manufacturing, installation and servicing of a new wind generation technology which was developed after an extensive research and development period by Mass Megawatts Wind Power, Inc. This new technology called Multiple Axis Turbine System (MATS) differs from traditional windmills in that it uses a vertical axis instead of the common windmill where large blades are placed on a horizontal axis. While there are a number of new wind technologies that utilize vertical technology, these units have been limited in their size and output unlike the MAT system which can be scaled to meet needs ranging from residential or commercial uses to industrial wind projects. The MATS system has a number of advantages including lower heights with larger scale commercial units being less than 80 ft. in height as compared to traditional windmills which may exceed 300-400 ft. Other advantages include construction materials and methods and operation and maintenance costs that are less than 25% of the O&M costs associated with traditional windmills. "The IDA has been working with principals of CMW for over a year to help them locate in Greene County," said IDA chairman Paul Slutzky. "CMW is exactly the type of new technology firms we targeted for the Greene Accelerator and we look forward to working with them to advance their business plan." The CMW focus is on three main areas including marketing the MATS units to both larger scale and smaller scale wind projects, the development of a manufacturing facility to produce the MATS units, and working in partnership with the IDA and town, developing a model for a community wind project that could benefit the residents and businesses on the Greene County mountaintop by taking advantage of the wind resource found in the Catskills. In a community wind scenario, public and private partnerships take advantage of the full suite of state and federal grants, tax credits, accelerated depreciation and other programs to fund the project. Benefits to the community can include deeply discounted or free electricity to offset municipal or institutional use, favorable electricity rates for key high energy use commercial operations that are critical to the community's economic health as well as a direct stream of income through the sale of electricity produced as well as selling Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). The partnership of Greene IDA and CMW is working on several fronts to bring the benefits of wind generation to Greene County on a larger scale. The IDA is assisting CMW with marketing of the technology with the goal of establishing a manufacturing facility for MATS units in Greene County. The IDA will assist the company with locating and outfitting a production facility that will result in significant jobs. In addition to the direct manufacturing operation, the CMW business plan also establishes a division of the company that will install and service the MAT units which will provide excellent opportunities for local students to be trained and employed working in the alternative energy field. The IDA also facilitated introductions between CMW and the Catskill Mountain Training Center in Durham with on-going discussions focused on developing a wind energy curriculum at the training center. "The enthusiasm and vision demonstrated by the Greene IDA since my first visit in 2008 was a major factor in our decision to bring Catskill Mountain Wind Management to the Greene Accelerator," said Frank Smollon, CEO of CMW. "In addition to the exceptional wind resources located in the Catskills, the opportunities for long term benefits to local communities and access to the knowledge base of the IDA staff is very exciting." Jon Ricker, CEO of Mass Megawatts, who spoke to a group of Catskill Mountain Wind employees at meeting held at the Greene Accelerator offices, said, "For a relatively modest investment we've achieved a tremendous amount during the past 12 months. Mass Megawatts has rolled out a thoroughly proven and commercialized 'next generation' of the patented Multi-Axis Turbosystem (MAT) and Augmenter (patent pending). We've been able to finalize a manufacturing platform that delivers tremendous value to our rapidly growing customer base. There's a pent up demand for the new technology, and we're well positioned to deliver." "I don't think that any other organization could have accomplished the transition from an R&D path to a fully commercialized product, with 5 model classes and the ability to custom size installations for clients, for 10 or even 20 times the amount we invested in product development this year. We're very proud that we were able bring the MAT technology to market as quickly as we have and in such an efficient fashion. A year ago we were still on our research and development track, today, we're a 'go-to-market' enterprise with a revolutionary product that is being rapidly adopted," said Ricker. Over the past year Mass Megawatts has focused on integrating newly developed technologies for its Augmenter System, Furling System, and Controller into all of its model classes. The newest version of the Augmenter dramatically increases wind velocity, leading to a substantial increase in energy produced, yet, the Company's development path over the past year has slashed production costs on the technology by 65%. In addition to the sales and manufacturing of MATS units, the Greene IDA is also facilitating the planning and development of the first community wind project in Greene County at a site in the town. The site is the location of the former Hunter Landfill, and analysis of wind resources has shown it to have excellent potential for wind power generation. The existing access to the property, its seclusion, and the opportunity to gain benefits form a property that has been a liability to the town are just some of the features of the proposal. "The town of Hunter is pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Greene IDA and CMW to explore the harvesting of the wind resources that blow across our landfill site. This project has such opportunity to benefit the town in many ways and keeps Hunter in the forefront of Climate Smart Communities," said town supervisor Dennis Lucas. The Greene IDA, the town and CMW are on track to place an initial unit of 10 kWh at the landfill this fall which will provide all the power necessary to operate the town's wetland treatment system at the landfill as well as produce excess power that will help reduce the town's energy costs at its other facilities. Preliminary planning is underway for development of additional wind generation at the landfill site in future phases of the community wind project. The Greene Accelerator Project is a partnership between the Greene County IDA and the Center for Economic Growth to create new jobs and generate business investment in Greene County. The concept is to offer smaller technology related and creative companies the opportunity to grow at below market rent with all business amenities provided at a convenient location in the Tech Valley. In addition to the bricks and mortar being provided at the Greene Accelerator, companies can utilize CEG's significant customized services and consulting expertise provided by their Accelerator Team. There is also great value for participating companies to have access to the business networks and other programs that the CEG organization and events offer. The Accelerator has also received generous federal support through the effort of U.S. senator Kirsten Gillibrand.