Eastman Business Park celebrates switch from coal to natural gas

When George Eastman started building Kodak Park in 1891, the first building constructed in the former orchard was a power plant.

Such was the importance of energy to the camera and film manufacturer.

In 2018, energy is still critical and now underlies the renaissance of the former Kodak Park as Eastman Business Park. The park is home to 110 companies and 6,500 employees.

“We are very excited about manufacturing coming back as a really relevant part of that growth,” said Dolores Kruchten, president of Eastman Business Park. Nearly all the speakers who came to celebrate the natural gas-powered energy project unveiled Tuesday remarked on the importance of energy to bringing more companies and more jobs to the business park.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in a tent overlooking building 371, which has actually been creating power with gas since March. The low-slung blue building in view of the event tent was dwarfed by a neighboring blue building, which had been the coal-fired power plant for the park until late last winter. The transition means the end to 127 years of burning coal at the site.

“With this park and with this new plant, our world really is endless,” said John Prunkl, CEO of Ironclad Energy Partners, the parent company of RED-Rochester, the company delivering power to other businesses at the park.

Craig Bennett, president of RED-Rochester, said switching over from coal to gas without interrupting the energy flow to Eastman  Business Park customers was a little like “changing your tire while going down the highway at highway speeds.”  But with lots of local construction help and plant operators with 30 and more years’ experience, the transition was made.

The switch-over brings significant environmental benefits – reductions in sulfur dioxide emissions by 99 percent, carbon dioxide by 50 percent, particulates by 80 percent, Bennett said. The cut in pollutants isn’t just theoretical, he said. “It’s happened, it’s in place and we’re enjoying the benefits.”

Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo said she grew up within walking distance of Kodak Park and is happy to see manufacturing jobs start to return along with the cleaner air.

“For me, it’s always about jobs. Jobs, jobs, jobs.  We want people to live and prosper in Monroe County,” she said. When companies consider relocating to the area, Dinolfo said, “they want to know about the cost of doing business. Energy is part of the cost of doing business.”

Kruchten said the pipeline of companies interested in the park now is fuller than it has ever been in her three years working there. The steam generated by the power plant is prized by food processors and other manufacturers, she said.  The chilled water capabilities can be used to cool buildings or in manufacturing processes, she said.

Business park officials said the $75 million conversion project is the largest investment that has been made in the industrial park in more than 30 years.

[email protected]/(585) 363-7275