Lessons from Wellsville
Wellsville, a former oil town almost 300 miles from the coast, is emerging as one of the early winners in the push to develop offshore wind in the Atlantic Ocean, as I wrote last week in The Wall Street Journal.
The hulking steel components of wind turbines slated to rise out of the ocean east of Long Island are being welded at the Ljungström factory, which for 100 years has sold parts to coal-fired power plants. Plant managers here said their pivot to wind has meant hiring 150 more people and could reopen a facility that has been dormant for several years.
The renewed economic activity has brought new jobs and perspective to some here in Wellsville, a town of 7,000 people about 80 miles south of Rochester that blossomed in the 20th century serving the fossil-fuel economy. As the nation strives to meet a goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions—including enough offshore wind to power 10 million homes—by 2030, the U.S. could see more places with historical ties to traditional energy markets try their hand in renewables.
One hundred years ago, the Air Preheater Corp. opened on the southern edge of the village. It produced massive heat exchangers designed by Swedish inventor Fredrik Ljungström that increased the efficiency of coal- and oil-fired boilers by using hot exhaust to preheat the air that fuels combustion. They require precision welds and assembly of large pieces of heavy steel — the largest preheater ever shipped weighed a million pounds — that factory personnel have become adept at manipulating.
Output peaked in 2008, then quickly dried up as concern about climate change increased, said Tom Hennessy, Ljungström’s director of project development. As U.S. states and cities began setting goals to wean their electric grids from fossil-fuel plants and replace them with wind and solar, Ljungström leveraged its experience in steel manufacturing to make parts for new turbines.
“We were not going to let this company go the way of the transistor radio and just disappear. We were at a fork in the road; we knew we had to do something,” Mr. Hennessy said.
The village of Wellsville straddles a branch of the Genesee River and was doing its best to leave winter behind when I visited earlier this month. You can see the legacy of oil — and the industrial prosperity it spawned — everywhere. The Sinclair Refinery has been repurposed into a satellite campus of Alfred State College. The “Pink House” is a model of Victorian erudition, painted the color of bubble gum. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a nicer library in a community this size than the David A. Howe Library. There was a brewery on Main Street that was closed when I was reporting, so I went to the open mic night at the nearby Arts Center / coffee house instead.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is currently soliciting more offshore wind proposals, and is giving priority to bidders who detail plans to use components produced in the state. The goal is to develop an in-state supply chain to serve them.
New York City officials announced the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal would become a port dedicated to serving wind farms. The Port of Albany is slated to become an assembly area, but rising costs and a lawsuit have stymied progress on the facility, the Times Union reported.
Some longtime residents of Wellsville are skeptical that a national shift away from fossil fuels will actually pan out, especially as some offshore wind projects have stalled due to permitting issues, supply-chain disruptions and inflation. But jobs are jobs, said Wellsville Mayor Randy Shayler.
“This is a very Republican area, and we so often are quick to the gun to say ‘Renewable, solar—all of this is bad. We’ve got this energy under the ground,’” he said. “I don’t think anybody had any idea that offshore wind power could have an impact directly on Wellsville.”
THE QUESTION: In Wellsville I visited Texas Hot, which has been a staple on Main Street since 1921. It takes its name from its signature dish — which I’ve also heard called a Coney, Michigan or Dirt Dog. What are its main toppings?
Know the answer? Drop me a line at jimmy.vielkind@gmail.com. Or just write with thoughts, feedback or to say hi.
THE LAST ANSWER: California has the highest top income tax rate, but the top combined rate in New York City (the state + city taxes) is higher.