“Partnership with a vision brought about the largest “Steel Winds” energy project on the Great Lakes,” says Keith Nagel, director of environmental affairs and real estate for ArcelorMittal USA.
This partnership was born when ArcelorMittal USA’s predecessor company, Mittal Steel USA, assumed liabilities of a massive 1,200-acre Brownfield site during the acquisition of a major integrated steel facility in Lackawanna, N.Y. The blazing wind speeds at the site encouraged Keith to install a meteorological tower in order to record wind patterns. A local university was recruited to understand and evaluate the data. The results confirmed the latent potential the site held for windmill energy generation. With a vivid plan to establish beneficial reuse of this massive Brownfield site ArcelorMittal partnered with BQ Energy, UPC Wind Management LLC and Clipper Windpower, Inc. to start in the Fall of 2006, ‘Steel Winds’- one of the nation’s largest urban wind farms.
The project had a “slag breaking” ceremony on September 15, 2006. The first of eight 400-foot state-of-the-art wind mills was put into place in December 2006. The wind farm resides on 160 (of the total 1,200) acres along the eastern shore of Lake Erie proudly visible from the major highway that runs along Lake Erie and through the city of Lackawanna, New York.
Innovation
The project comprises of eight wind turbines that are unprecedented as they are the largest wind turbines ever assembled in the country and first of its kind on the Great Lakes shoreline. Each windmill costs about $4.25 million to build and can generate 2.5 megawatts of electricity.
‘Steel Winds’ is unique for several reasons, most notable being its location. While many existing wind farms are located on private farms, the Lackawanna wind farm is located right on the Lake Erie shoreline and is the first in the state to be located on an abandoned Brownfield site. The land that the turbines are installed on is composed of steel slag produced as a byproduct of the former steelmaking operations.
The massive wind mills have defined a landmark for the community. The 400-foot wind mills are visible for miles. This provides an opportunity to draw people to the area to visit the site which in turn supports local businesses.
Additionally, because the wind energy portions of the site border the waterfront non- residential footprint standard development has been possible. This permits beachfront access with a significant quadrant being utilized for recreational end use. The community has thus benefited by the development of recreation land that is located right on the shores of Lake Erie.
Moreover, negotiations with the power company, BQ Energies for a lower power rate have provided the businesses coming into the 300-acre business quadrant sections of the site with an economic advantage because of a lower power rate.
The “Steel Winds” energy project is just the first phase of a larger project to turn the complete Brownfield site into productive land. There are future phases that include business parks, shipping and receiving facilities, and public park land along the lake shore.
In addition, similar wind farms are being explored in Cleveland and Indiana Harbor. A meteorological testing tower will be installed in January 2008 in Cleveland to test the feasibility for wind power at the Cleveland site.
The “Steel Winds” energy project has the potential to become one of the largest wind mill projects in the Americas with ArcelorMittal becoming a leader in wind energy.
Impact
Adhering to the true meaning of triple bottom line ArcelorMittal has generated revenue by attracting businesses to the site because of the reduced energy cost provided for by the utilization of the wind energy.
Benefits for the community involve recreation and lake access, revenue from the business development quadrants, and a unique landmark that creates an attraction for visitors. Ever since the inception of the project the City of Lackawanna has created 35 new-good paying jobs in construction, operation and maintenance. The city has also garnered $100,000 in tax revenues.
The project also benefits BQ Energy Company by helping it utilize the “green” energy from the wind mills.
The 20 Megawatt wind farm supplies enough clean, renewable electricity to serve the annual needs of about 6,000 to 7,000 average American homes, according to turbine manufacturer Clipper®. This saves about 92,000 barrels of oil per year. The power is sold into the NYS Independent System Operator grid for distribution to retail customers. The project is thus also contributing to New York State’s goal of producing 25 percent of its electricity through renewable sources by 2013.
The ‘Steel Winds’ project demonstrates how government and private industry can work together to everyone’s benefit. With this collaboration, renewable energy projects benefit from generous tax incentives that enable developers to recoup a significant portion of their capital investment over a five-year period creating advantages and profits for everyone.
Inspiration
The “Steel Winds” energy project demonstrates ArcelorMittal USA’s commitment to transforming tomorrow through its brand values of sustainability, quality and leadership. It shows innovation and cooperation for the betterment of the community through environmental stewardship and wise energy management.
This project is an exemplar in the beautiful partnership organizations can forge with society and environment to generate profits and a sustainable future for itself. As Keith Nigel says,
“Show stakeholders there is a reason to do this! Others can learn from this. The old school practice of shielding the company from the community does not work. You can’t live in a box and be successful. You will never find a creative way to solve problems. You risk more, but the reward is so much greater. It must be a win-win opportunity for all stakeholders involved!”
The World Inquiry editorial team edited this profile from the original submission of the interviewer or other source. The views expressed do not necessarily represent Case Western Reserve University, the Weatherhead School of Management or the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. More >>
