May 1 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Kathy Mellott Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.


Alternative energy sources accelerated by a push to move the nation past fossil fuels is gaining ground in the Cambria-Somerset region largely in response to the state's goal to get 20 percent of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Progress is being made on a wide variety of fronts.

Wind energy continues to lead in alternative energy while solar is generating increased interest. Methane production from area landfills is boasting success and a Richland Township company is developing fuel cells technology.

An old building in Johnstown could become home to a plant churning out 78,000 tons of wood pellets while, in nearby Clearfield County, work is continuing on a $270 million ethanol plant, the first in the state.

This region may be technologically behind when compared to significantly more progressive areas, but Cambria and Somerset counties are keeping up with other counties in developing alternative energy sources, said Erik Foley, executive director of the Renewable Energy Center at St. Francis University, Loretto.

"None of these things are a silver bullet. It's going to take a diverse approach to reduce our dependance on fossil fuels," Foley said.

Wind farms

Phase II of the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm at the Cambria-Blair county line has been completed, bringing to 75 the number of turbines on the farm.

A third phase of 15 is proposed.

The 25 windmills in the Highland Wind Project near Dunlo in Adams Township are operational.

In Somerset County, the 23 turbines making up the Casselman Wind Power Project near Garrett were dedicated in October.

A windmill pioneer, Somerset County has had 34 turbines operating within its borders for a number of years.

While permanent jobs at turbine sites are minimal, the Gamesa plant outside Ebensburg is doing well.

With employment hovering at 300, the blade manufacturing facility is cross training employees to produce the next generation of blade, which will be larger and lighter, said Gamesa spokesman Michael Peck.

No one is talking new job creation yet, but Peck said the company's blade production focus is on Cambria County.

"Ebensburg is going to be our national blade manufacturing center of excellence," he said.

Gamesa continues to seek a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection to build a 30-turbine project on Shaffer Mountain at the Somerset-Bedford county line.

Recently, DEP rejected the company's storm water management plan based on technical and environmental grounds. It was the third time the state sent the application back to Gamesa.

On a smaller scale, the Greater Johnstown Water Authority, with help from St. Francis University, is gathering data for a community-based wind project.

Two farm-based projects in the Patton and Ebensburg areas are also in the works, Foley said.

Harnessing the sun

As technology for gathering and retaining the heat from the sun improves, a greater number of people are considering solar as a power and heat source.

Classes on installing solar panels are popping up at community colleges nationwide and an increased number of contractors are looking at solar energy work as one way to stay employed.

"There's a push from the state for solar. It's part of the energy independence program," Foley said.

Loans, grants and rebates up to 35 percent of the cost of a system are being used as state incentives to draw people into solar.

Fuel research

The Concurrent Technologies Center in Richland Township is making strides in alternative fuels research with some prototypes of military and heavy commercial vehicles already in testing.

"We see energy as a market space we want to grow into," said Dave Roberts, CTC's executive director for the Advanced Technology Program.

"We're working with anything that reduces costs and makes us less dependant on foreign oil" and harmful pollutants, Roberts said.

Taking traditional internal combustion engines and combining them with fuel cells is in the forefront of a CTC program.

"Fuel blending is a big thing," Roberts said.

The methane gas produced as part of the landfilling process is serving benefits for the consortium Johnstown Regional Energy LLC.

Methane gas is being harvested from a Jackson Township landfill as well as landfills in Conemaugh and Shade townships, both in Somerset County.

The consortium's entities include JWF Industries, Gautier Steel Ltd., Johnstown Wire Technologies Inc., and the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority. Also benefiting as a customer is North American Hoganas.

While Johnstown Regional Energy sold the operation to Leaf Clean Energy in December it retained all rights as primary customers and continue to benefit with lower natural gas bills, said Ron Repak, executive director of the redevelopment authority.

"I'd say we save about 50 percent," over previous gas bills, Repak said.

No timetables are yet available, but entry into biomass as an alternative energy source via a wood pellet plant remains viable.

"Plans are still in the works, we are moving forward," said Lauren Burkert Lazzari, who directs the Johnstown office of Investar Redevelopment, an entity involved in the project.

Set to open in January, the Clearfield County ethanol plant will be one of the nation's

10 largest with the capacity to produce 108 million gallons of corn-based ethanol.

(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services