Clean Tech sets December 15 deadline for Stanly County project

Stanly County stands to lose 450 high-paying jobs if an agreement to bring Clean Tech to Badin cannot be reached within the next month

Clean Tech Silicon & Bar still hopes to build a $300 million manufacturing plant in Stanly County that will create 450 high-paying jobs. But the company informed the Stanly County Commissioners today that it will eliminate the Badin site from consideration if an agreement cannot be reached by Thursday, December 15. Clean Tech is also considering sites in Mississippi and other states.

“Badin is an ideal location for our company and we are ready to move forward with this project immediately and create jobs. But we cannot continue to wait on the sidelines for the Stanly County Commissioners to act,” said John Correnti, chairman of Clean Tech and former CEO of Nucor.

The Clean Tech project would create 250 direct jobs with an average annual salary of $55,000 and 200 support jobs with an average annual salary of $40,000.

In a letter to the Stanly County Commissioners, Clean Tech officials expressed frustration that the commissioners have refused to meet with the company since July to discuss ways to advance the project. Clean Tech offered again to meet with county officials and discuss how to make this project a reality.

Clean Tech’s interest in Stanly County rests in part on incentives offered by Alcoa, including an investment into the joint venture and other support that will significantly lower operating costs. Key to making the incentive package viable is renewal of a federal hydropower license for Alcoa Power Generating Inc.’s Yadkin Project, which will help fund some of the incentives. Stanly County has filed legal challenges that have delayed the relicensing process.

In an effort to reach an agreement with Stanly County, Alcoa has offered a deal worth more than $50 million. The Company has committed to recruiting new jobs that will generate $30 million in annual compensation; has pledged to attract $400 million in investments that will generate more than $2 million a year in additional tax revenue for the county; and has offered to contribute $6 million to the county for public education and other pressing community needs. If Alcoa fails to meet those commitments, it will provide up to $1.2 million a year to Stanly County for the next 40-50 years.

The December 15 deadline is driven by the expiration of Clean Tech’s project development agreement with Alcoa and other business partners.

Stanly County has an unemployment rate of 10.9% and its residents are desperate for new jobs. A rally for Clean Tech jobs recently attracted a crowd of 750 people, and a local job fair for Electronic Recyclers International (ERI) this summer brought in more than 1,000 applications for 25 jobs, indicating a high degree of interest in employment opportunities.

Alcoa has actively worked to recruit new jobs to Stanly County since closing the Badin Works smelter in 2010. ERI, the nation’s largest recycler of electronic waste, opened a regional recycling facility in Badin in May 2011 and will move into an expanded building in January 2012. The company plans to hire 150 people by early 2013.

Boaters Beware: Fall and Winter Bring Additional Water Safety Risks

Boaters who take to the water during the fall and winters months face a different set of risks when it comes to water safety. There are fewer boats and law enforcement officers on the water to provide assistance in the event of an emergency, and heavier clothes and colder temperatures can make it much more difficult to swim to safety if you fall in the water without a life jacket. It can be a deadly combination.

“There are fewer people on the lakes in the fall and winter, but the potential dangers for boaters are even greater,” said Marshall Olson, environmental and natural resources manager for Alcoa Power Generating Inc. (APGI). “It’s important for people to pay just as much attention to water safety issues this time of the year as they do during the summer recreation season.”

APGI reminds boaters to Play it Safe on the Lakes by taking the following precautions: 

• Always Wear a Life Jacket: Wearing a life jacket is the most fundamental way to stay safe — and it’s even more important in colder water temperatures. The risk of cold shock and hypothermia can impede your ability to perform even the most basic of tasks.
• Be Prepared: Review the NC Wildlife Resources Commission’s “Boating Checklist” to make sure you have the necessary equipment on board and operating correctly. You can view the checklist online at: www.ncwildlife.org.
• Use the Buddy System: Avoid boating alone. If you are alone, make sure someone knows  where you are going and when you plan to return.
• Check Weather Forecasts and Advisories: Be prepared for adverse weather and sudden weather changes. Never go boating during storms.
• Be Aware of Lower Lake Levels: The lakes can experience lower water levels during the winter, exposing tree stumps and other potential hazards. Check the water levels online at www.alcoa.com/yadkin and be on the lookout for hazards.
• Have An Emergency Plan: Make sure you have a working marine radio and a charged mobile phone so you can call for help in an emergency.
• Do Not Overload the Boat: Boats that are weighted down are more likely to tip over.
• Be Careful Near Dams: Stay a safe distance from dams. Do not go past the warning signs and buoys located above and below the dams.
• Stay Dry, Stay Warm: Dress in layers and bring extra clothes. If you get wet, change into dry clothes as quickly as possible.

Stanly County business leader speaks out in support of Alcoa

A respected Stanly County business leader is speaking out in support of Alcoa's effort to recruit new jobs to Stanly County and obtain a new federal license for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.

Dick Storm, CEO of Storm Technologies in Albemarle, sent a letter to Inside Stanly and the Stanly News and Press outlining why he supports Alcoa.

He highlights the high unemployment rate in Stanly County and the availability of the Badin site as the best industrial site in the region.  "Alcoa is sincerely trying to rejuvenate industry in Badin," Storm writes. "If they are not able to relicense the Hydropower facilities, not only does Stanly County appear 'Anti-Industry' but no one else is better equipped to provide economic development."


The 450 high-paying jobs that Clean Tech Silicon & Bar will bring to Badin if an agreement can be reached could transform Stanly County."Most important to me, the Citizens of our County will be able to improve their incomes and employment opportunities," Storm says.

Click here to read a full copy of his letter.

Who is Clean Tech?

Who is Clean Tech? That's a question that has been on the minds of a lot of folks in Stanly County recently.

The Stanly News & Press recently printed a profile of Clean Tech. Some of the highlights:

• Clean Tech is led by a management team and investor group that has extensive experience building and operating industrial facilities across the United States.  Over the past 30 years, Clean Tech’s management and investment sponsors have helped create more than 10,000 jobs and invested billions of dollars in various projects in support of modernizing industrial America.  
• Clean Tech prides itself on (i) purchasing and installing the very best technology and equipment available, (ii) spending substantial amounts of time and money on employee training, and (iii) creating a compensation system that allows for wages well above the base wage level.  
• Projects include a $1 billion of scrap metal recycling investments in Arkansas; a $350-million “green renewable” investment in Hertford County, NC when Gov. Jim Hunt was leading efforts to create advanced manufacturing jobs; and an $880-million steel mill investment in Mississippi that created 450 jobs with guaranteed average annual wages of $53,000 per year.  (In some years, average annual wages exceeded $90,000.)

Clean Tech wants to make a $300-million industrial investment in Badin, North Carolina that would create 250 direct jobs (average annual wages of $55,000) and 200 indirect jobs (average annual wages of $40,000).  

Alcoa and Jobs

The Salisbury Post published an editorial today supporting our efforts to reach an agreement with Stanly County and bring hundreds of high-paying jobs to Stanly County. We agree that it's time to work together to bring 450 Clean Tech jobs to Stanly County. The other option -- a protracted legal battle and the loss of the Clean Tech jobs -- won't benefit anyone.

Read the editorial below.

Salisbury Post Editorial
Wednesday, September 14

Alcoa and Jobs

Alcoa and Stanly County commissioners still stand on opposite sides of the river when it comes to Alcoa's hydroelectric relicensing efforts, but at least they've been talking to one another. We'll take that as an encouraging sign.

The latest volley in the public relations battle over the relicensing centers on jobs. Alcoa, which is seeking federal approval to continue operating its Yadkin River hydroelectric dams, says securing the license is necessary to recruit new businesses and replace the jobs lost when the Badin smelting operations closed. Standing in the way, however, is Alcoa's inability to get a water quality certificate, which the state has refused to issue, citing mistatements on Alcoa's application. Stanly has sided with the state, which opposes renewal of Alcoa's federal license in hopes of taking over the Yadkin dams and using cheap electricity as its own industrial recruitment tool.

Meanwhile, caught in the middle of this power struggle are Stanly County citizens, who like those elsewhere could desperately use new jobs to help lower a double-digit unemployment rate. Their hopes were raised a few months ago when Alcoa announced that Electronic Recyclers International would move into the site of Alcoa's former smelting plant in Badin, starting with a workforce of 20-30 employees that is expected to reach 200. Now, Alcoa says another company, Clean Tech Silicon and Bar LLC, could bring in several hundred jobs and $300 million in investment. But in return, it apparently wants Stanly to drop its opposition to the water quality certification and relicensing effort. Stanly Commissioner Tony Dennis contends Alcoa is holding the promised jobs "hostage" as a way to put pressure on the county. Which is probably true to the same extent the state is holding the water certification "hostage" to gain leverage against Alcoa.

In reality, both Alcoa and its relicensing opponents have played hard ball at times. But with good jobs on the table, the need to get past the war of words becomes more urgent. The takeover attempt has lost momentum as North Carolina copes with the economic downturn. At this point, it's hard to fathom state or county officials pursuing what would no doubt be a protracted and costly court battle against Alcoa. While the details of negotiations between Stanly and Alcoa haven't been divulged, the fact they've discussed a deal suggests possible movement in this standoff.

With takeover of the dams a distant possibility at best, better to drive a hard bargain with Alcoa and gain jobs and other tangible benefits now than to continue pursuing a costly legal battle that doesn't create employment for anyone other than lawyers and lobbyists.