Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Connecting Resources in Natural Dam
With the help of: New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP)
About
The Challenge
There were a lot of moving parts to this project, and solutions did not present themselves easily. CITEC's business advisor helped to break the project into pieces so we could accomplish what we needed to do. CITEC's deep network offered us resources to research different alternatives, and also found us additional funding sources.
MEP's Role
CITEC, part of the New York MEP and the MEP National Network™, worked with the local IDA to help source three new pieces of equipment for Dunn. When the improved efficiencies started to add up, they realized it was time to call NYSERDA, a NY State clean energy authority that promotes efficiency and renewable energy sources, to see if the upgrades met standards for capital reimbursements. The estimates were that the annual energy, water and consumable savings would total more than a half million dollars per year, which would make Dunn eligible for a NYSERDA rebate totaling half of their capital expenditure.
On the tannin removal side of the project, CITEC brought together other NY State assets including the Pollution Prevention Institute, based at the Rochester Institute for Technology, and the Center for Advanced Materials Processing, based at Clarkson University. After several trials and experiments, the answer lay in using the same kind of system that municipalities use to clean drinking water. CITEC’s persistence in questioning outcomes and searching out additional experts resulted in a system that proved to be both effective and economical for Dunn.