SOMERSET, N.Y. (WKBW) — Niagara County could become the site of Western New York's newest shipping terminal.
The Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA Ports) announced an agreement Tuesday that would establish a new port 37 miles south of Oshawa in Somerset, New York at the former location of New York's last coal plant which closed down in 2020.
The goal is to establish the Lake Ontario short sea shipping corridor run by HOPA with the United States.
The owner of Singer Farm Naturals and co-owner of Innocense Cannabis Tom Szulist is excited to see his area get even busier.
“It’s really quite exciting because anytime you can bring commerce and jobs to a rural area and this area used to have a power plant here," Szulist says. "Which employed a few people and since the powerplant shut down, there have been various proposals, but this sounds like something that can have some real good backing and support.”
Ian Hamilton, CEO of HOPA Ports, tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person that industrial goods will be traveling back and forth.
The agreement is between HOPA Ports and an affiliate of Beowulf Electricity & Data Inc., the owner of the 1,800-acre site on the southern shore of Lake Ontario.
"There are some big manufacturers in Oshawa like General Motors that we believe would be a potential user of the service," Hamilton says. "There’s even some manufacturers from Buffalo and even some food products coming out of the area in Somerset.”
The two parties have pledged to enhance a $494 billion annual US-Canadian trade partnership by creating a new two-way trade route. HOPA Ports says the new route would significantly reduce carbon emissions and border congestion from truck traffic by creating this new marine transportation option.
“If you look at the economy around the Great Lakes, it’ll be the third largest economy in the world so we’re one of the greatest partnerships we have," the CEO says. "And anything we can do to enhance that and further that and further enhance the friendship in the United States is a very positive thing.”
The old coal plant in Somerset has been undergoing redevelopment as New York State looks to transition it into something new while making use of its existing energy infrastructure and access to hydropower. The site is currently home to the Lake Mariner Data Facility, a high-tech campus that works on computational applications like Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence.
“Somerset’s promising future has long been anchored in its advantageous location along the shores of Lake Ontario, bolstered by valuable energy infrastructure and the exceptional quality of our local workforce,” said Paul Prager, CEO of Beowulf. “We are thrilled that HOPA has recognized these same qualities and sought to partner with us on this exciting transportation project.”
HOPA Ports says it will begin work right away on a detailed market analysis of the cargoes currently moving across the border by truck with an origin or destination point at each port. The study will be used to determine how valuable a new marine service would be including transportation cost savings and greenhouse gas reductions.
Both partners involved in this project also believe the Port of Somerset would develop over time to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in Niagara County and the Buffalo area.
“Niagara County’s location as a border community with Canada has always been a major focus of our efforts to drive economic growth and opportunity, and today’s announcement will unlock that potential and result in significant investment in our region,” said Becky Wydysh, Chairman of the Niagara County Legislature. “The fact that the port would be sited at the former Somerset coal plant is a tremendous reuse of that property and needed in a community that took a big hit in the loss of revenue and jobs when the coal plant closed."
HOPA hopes to begin the move sometime in 2025.
