Two NNY locations on list for diesel plant

Gouverneur and Alexandria Bay are among 300 communities in the running for a megamillion-dollar plant that would convert waste into diesel fuel.

Triumvirate Environmental, Somerville, Mass., is in the initial stages of siting the plant — which could employ hundreds of people — and determining its feasibility.

"It's going to be a massive facility," said Garrett W. Gates, a research assistant with Triumvirate. "I think it's the technology of the future, waste energy."

The project might top $300 million, Mr. Gates said.

Triumvirate sent out a mailing to a number of communities, asking for a response if they were interested in knowing more about the facility and met certain criteria. Triumvirate is looking for 100 acres near a rail line.

"We'd have to ship most of the waste in," Mr. Gates said.

The company already is planning visits to sites in Kentucky, Virginia, New Jersey and Tennessee, and will spend the next few months deciding where else to look.

In New York, only Gouverneur, Alexandria Bay and Rome responded.

Alexandria Bay Mayor Terry J. Robb said he had nothing to lose by telling Triumvirate his town might be interested.

"You never know if it's going to be a fit," he said. "We need to make sure this village has year-round jobs."

Alexandria Bay doesn't have the acreage that Triumvirate is looking for but Mr. Robb said he planned to approach the town of Alexandria for sites if he heard back from Triumvirate.

Gouverneur Mayor Dorothy L. Vorce referred the request to the town, which owns more than 100 acres behind Gouverneur Bowl on Route 11 that was previously looked at for a biodiesel fuel manufacturing plant.

Triumvirate didn't provide any specifics, but Supervisor Robert R. Ritchie said he thought it was worth a shot.

"We got our name on the list," he said.

Gouverneur makes more sense than Alexandria Bay because a rail spur is possible there, Mr. Gates said.

"It may not be our top choice, but we could end up there," Mr. Gates said. "It's one we might come visit. I would not be against doing it there."

The technology Triumvirate would use doesn't reinvent the wheel. Nazi Germany, for example, turned coal into diesel fuel, Mr. Gates said.

Triumvirate, a 20-year-old company, provides waste management services to clients in the sectors of education, health care, industrial and life sciences.

Asked what kind of waste would be used in the diesel conversion process, Mr. Gates said, "You name it."