ASHTABULA, OH -U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today convened a meeting with the Ashtabula County Port Authority, local business leaders, elected officials and other stakeholders to explore strategies to ensure the future viability of the former First Energy C Plant, known as "Plant C." Plant C serves the critical water needs of Ashtabula's industrial community, and helps sustain more than 1,000 jobs. Without intervention, the outdated piping and pumping system will continue to degrade and risk significant economic consequences and job loss.
"Many Ashtabula companies rely on Plant C as a resource for raw water, but the pumping infrastructure has fallen into disrepair, which puts these businesses at risk," said Brown. "Ensuring the viability of Plant C is not only important for the current businesses that rely on it for water, but for future development in the area. Investments in Plant C now will pay future dividends in new jobs and economic growth for Ashtabula County."
At the meeting, attendees discussed resources available to preserve operations
at Plant C in the hopes of retaining low-cost raw water for more than a
half-dozen companies. Additionally, a dependable source of raw water is
necessary for future development in the Ashtabula area. Also in attendance at
the meeting were representatives from Johnson Controls, who are in negotiations
with the Port Authority to convert the coal-burning FirstEnergy plant to run on
biomass and create clean energy. With investments at the federal level, the
Plant C project would create jobs and spur economic revitalization for
Ashtabula County.
Brown's visit to Ashtabula is part of his "Made in Ohio Tour," which kicked off several weeks ago. With the top priority of creating Ohio jobs, Brown is fighting for a multi-pronged effort to promote economic development - from working to position Ohio as the Silicon Valley of Clean Energy Manufacturing, to establishing the state as a hub for high-growth industries.
The key components of Brown's jobs strategy are:
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