Zinc8 Energy Solutions, a battery manufacturer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has signed a letter of intent to build a manufacturing plant at iPark 87 in Kingston following approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of a plan to remove asbestos, according to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer and EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia were among the government officials who gathered at iPark 87 on Aug. 12 to announce a deal that will result in the removal of a number of asbestos piles that have stood in the way of developing sections of what formerly had been an IBM campus and then was being redeveloped as a property known as TechCity. Ron McDonald, president and CEO of Zinc8, also attended the event.
“This long overdue cleanup starts now and the toxic asbestos piles that have plagued this community for far too long will soon be gone,” Schumer said. “I want to thank EPA Region 2, New York state, Ulster County, and the town of Ulster for their tireless work to revitalize this site, which will soon be home to dozens of businesses, higher education institutions and thousands of new jobs, including in the clean energy space.”
The Business Journal reported on July 21 that Zinc8 had been considering setting up shop at the former IBM site that is being redeveloped by Greenwich-based National Resources. A battery manufacturing plant could bring an estimated 500 new jobs to the area.
Zinc8 has developed zinc-air batteries designed to store electricity for release as needed when renewable sources such as wind and solar aren”™t producing at peak capacity. The company also believes its batteries would be backup sources replacing diesel generators. It points out that its technology differs from other types of batteries in that zinc-air batteries have no fire or explosion risks.
According to the EPA, over several years the owner of the property who operated it as TechCity demolished various buildings without first properly abating asbestos. The EPA said that the improper abatement and demolition led to asbestos contamination. Large piles of debris that contained asbestos were left at the site.
After having been asked by Ulster County to assist, EPA in March 2020 began working with New York state to mitigate the most immediate public health threats posed by the asbestos by demolishing one of the buildings, sealing another building and disposing of debris. However, despite an EPA order to remove three large debris piles and finish the cleanup of one of the buildings, the work was not done by the responsible parties.
The EPA reached an agreement in June 2022 with iPark 87. Under the agreement, the developer will remove asbestos from the interior of a building, remove three large debris piles containing asbestos that were generated during the demolition and dispose of the waste off-site at an EPA-approved landfill. The EPA said that removing debris piles will take approximately three months, and work to address building contamination will be completed in early 2023. Under the agreement, the EPA will recover all of its past costs and the cost of overseeing the new work, eliminating the need for public funding of the cleanup work at the site.
“After years of effort, this hazardous heap of asbestos pile will be removed,” Garcia said. “Today is the culmination of decisive actions that have addressed a lingering threat to public health, further placing this site on the path to productive reuse for this community.”
According to Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan,” For far too long, this site has been a shell of past economic success, and my administration has worked tirelessly with the county legislature and National Resources to come up with a true 21st-century economic revitalization plan for this property. Clearing the asbestos piles is a major step in remaking this site as a thriving beacon of new opportunity for our county.”
