Utica Observer-Dispatch: OUR VIEW: Join partnership for nano
future
Published:
Sunday, July 27, 2014 - 09:49
Utica Observer-Dispatch
Those whose vision is blurred by skepticism when it comes to nanotechnology’s future in the Mohawk Valley got a stronger eyeglass prescription this week with the announcement that the long-awaited wetlands permit for the Marcy nanocenter site had been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Permit approval means that preliminary site work can finally begin to mitigate the wetlands, a key step toward development of semiconductor-manufacturing facilities that could bring thousands of well-paying jobs to the Mohawk Valley.
It also means that now more than ever the team of local, state and federal leaders who have worked cooperatively on this initiative for decades must continue to strengthen the partnership that has been the driving force behind this effort. Partners also must include a supportive public whose attitude toward this community and what can happen here could very well be the linchpin on which a manufacturer decides to build.
A frustrating battle
Nanotechnology development at the Marcy site has been long anticipated but steeped in frustration. Securing a permit has been the main stumbling block for Mohawk Valley EDGE, locked in a chicken-or-egg standoff for years with the Army Corps over wetlands mitigation. The Army Corps refused to issue a permit until there is an end user, while EDGE argued that it couldn’t secure an end user until it has a permit.
The stalemate was finally broken last September when SUNY’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) — which has since merged with SUNYIT — agreed to become the end user. That satisfied the Army Corps, which on Wednesday issued the permit. The permit will allow EDGE to do offsite mitigation work at the same time as the mitigation projects on-site. EDGE President Steve DiMeo expects work to begin in late summer or early fall and should take about a year to complete. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called it “the largest shovel-ready greenfield site” in the state’s Tech Valley.
Next step: Developers
In the meantime, conversations with potential developers can officially begin.
The site — owned by SUNYIT — could eventually be home to as many as three chip manufacturing plants and could employ nearly 5,000 people. Alain Kaloyeros, CNSE senior vice president and CEO, said that as much as $45 billion could be put into the operation over the next decade — an investment that could put the Mohawk Valley on the cutting edge of nanotechnology development.
Skeptics who scoff at the reality of what’s happening here need to re-focus. This is no pipe dream. The Albany NanoCollege already has partnered with SUNYIT in the Nano Utica initiative — a $1.5 billion investment that includes a $125 million computer chip commercialization center, known as Quad-C, currently under construction on the SUNYIT campus. It is expected to open by the end of this year.
