OSWEGO – The Port of Oswego Authority (POA) announced that it has applied for $5 million in grants to purchase an all-electric rail engine ($2 million) and make major upgrades to its rail service at its Fitzgibbons Intermodal Terminal ($3 million).
“This quieter, ‘green’ electric railcar mover would replace our well-worn diesel railcar mover and be the only one that we know of in upstate New York,” said William Scriber, POA executive director and CEO. “It’s part of the port’s commitment to make our operations more environmentally friendly to our community, using clean technology with zero carbon dioxide emissions, and it follows Governor Hochul’s goals for greener NY industries. It’s capable of handling a minimum of six railcars and we’ll also install two charging stations for it. Plus, there’s the added benefit of reducing maintenance costs and truck traffic.”
In addition to the electric railcar mover, the rail expansion grant includes the construction of a fifth storage track at the Fitzgibbons Intermodal Terminal to increase railcar storage capacity, Scriber said. The grant would also include track rehabilitation along the existing east dock warehouse 1960-era tracks to improve handling and safety, as well as the construction of a concrete railcar unloading pit located near Dome 3 for unloading agricultural products.
“Construction of the fifth storage track will consist of two new switches and 750 feet of new track, which will allow the port to store an additional 12 railcars,” Scriber said. “This will more than double our capacity for rail car movement and make us the largest operating railyard in the central New York region. It will support a wide range of applications, everything from aluminum to huge transformers, to grain and construction materials.”
Driving this expansion are both the increased volume of business the port is handling in grain exports and inbound rail shipments—marking a record year in 2022—and the anticipated needs of Micron Technology’s nearby $100 billion semiconductor plant that will soon break ground.
A Micron delegation visited the port earlier this year, and during that visit, Scott Gatzemeier, Micron corporate vice president, front end U.S. Expansion, described how the unique capabilities of the Port of Oswego could help in the construction: “We are planning to break ground on the facility in 2024, and we use off-site manufacturing, (OSM), to produce many of the components used in construction that would be delivered from points around the world. Among these are large steel work pieces and plumbing components that could be shipped into the Port, loaded on a semi-trailer, and shipped to Clay.” Some of these pieces could be as large as the wind turbine components currently handled by the port. The Port of Oswego has acres of laydown space, abundant warehouse space and rail capability, Scriber said.
“The bottom line is that the port is continuing its mission to generate positive economic activity in our region,” Scriber said, “At the same time, we continue to expand our role as a major force in developing both the upstate and Great Lakes economy. We do this by supporting our local commercial businesses, while serving the needs of huge, growing international customers like The Andersons of Maumee, OH, one of the world’s largest grain exporters.”
The Port of Oswego is a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) and its strategic location at the crossroads of the Northeastern North American shipping market, puts them less than 350 miles from 60 million people.
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