The Seaway Channel

As part of an partnership aimed at increasing economic development in urban and rural areas while setting our nation on the path to energy independence, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Energy today announced an estimated $3 billion for the development of renewable energy projects around the country and made available the guidance businesses will need to submit a successful application. Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), the program will provide direct payments in lieu of tax credits in support of an estimated 5,000 bio-mass, solar, wind, and other types of renewable energy production facilities.

“The renewable energy program provides another important avenue for the Recovery Act to contribute to economic development in communities around the country,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “It will provide additional stimulus to economies in urban and rural America by helping to develop domestic sources of clean energy. This partnership between Treasury and Energy will enable both large companies and small businesses to invest in our long-term energy needs, protect our environment and revitalize our nation’s economy.”

The Recovery Act authorized Treasury to make direct payments to companies that create and place in service renewable energy facilities beginning January 1, 2009. Previously, these companies could file for a tax credit to cover a portion of the renewable energy project’s cost; under the new program, applicants would agree to forgo tax credits down the line in favor of an immediate reimbursement of a portion of the property expense. This direct payment program allows for an immediate stimulus in local economies.

Said Energy Secretary Steven Chu: “These payments will help spur major private sector investments in clean energy and create new jobs for America's workers. It is part of our broad effort to double our renewable energy capacity in the next few years and make sure that America leads the world in creating the new clean energy economy of the future.”

In previous years, the tax credit has been widely used. It is considered a successful incentive for encouraging the development of renewable energy. In 2006, approximately $550 million in tax credits were provided to 450 businesses. The rate of new renewable energy installations has fallen since the economic and financial downturns began, as projects had a harder time obtaining financing. The Departments of Treasury and Energy expect a fast acceleration of businesses applying for the energy funds in lieu of the tax credit.

To expedite implementation of the program, Treasury and Energy are today making available the terms and conditions, guidance, and a sample application so that companies can prepare successful applications in advance of the launch of the web based application in the coming weeks – yet another tool designed to facilitate the timely flow of program funds to eligible businesses.

A number of wind energy projects across the United States ahve been put on hold since the financial downturn last year awaiting a reauthoriztion of the renewable energy tax credit program which has been a vital subsidy to the clean energy industry. Perhaps now some of those programs can begin to move wind turbines through Seaway ports again.

This evening at 7:00pm celebrations commemorating the St. Lawrence Seaway's 50th Anniversary will begin in Massena, NY at the New York Power Authority's Frank S. McCullough, Jr. Hawkins Point Visitor's Center. Dr. Clare Parham will be the featured speaker at "An Evening to Honor Seaway Construction and Those Who Built It" at the scenic visitor center on the banks of the St. Lawrence River.

The St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project, as it was known, was one of the largest and most impressive civil engineering feats ever undertaken. Construction began in the summer of 1954 and took nearly five years to complete. Over its course the project employed some 22,000 workers and utilized enough cement to build a highway 1,000 miles long and enough steel to span the circumference of the Earth. About 6,500 people living in communities along the St. Lawrence River had to be relocated, bridges were raised, and tunnels, dikes, and roads were constructed. Locks had to be constructed in the seaway and modernized in the Welland Canal to raise and lower large ships a total of 557 feet, making it the world’s greatest waterway lifting operation. It takes about seven minutes for water to pour in or out of a seaway lock; the average locking takes about half an hour. To overcome the navigational hazard of the swift-flowing, 226-foot fall of the St. Lawrence River between Lake Ontario and Montreal and to develop its hydroelectric power potential required an investment of more than $1 billion. 

For the navigation portion of the project, the Canadian government built two canals and five locks around the Cedar, Cascades, and Lachine rapids and three seaway dams; and the U.S. government built two locks, a 10-mile canal around the International Rapids, and two seaway dams and cleared shoals from the Thousand Islands section of the river. This series of operations created a waterway 27 feet deep, replacing six canals and 22 locks that had been limited to a depth of 14 feet.

In order to make the seaway operational, a number of other projects had to be undertaken as well. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deepened the Straits of Mackinac, between Lakes Michigan and Huron; the St. Marys River, between Lakes Superior and Huron; the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair River, between Lake Erie and Lake Huron; and many Great Lakes harbours. In addition, between 1913 and 1932 Canada had built seven lift locks of seaway dimensions in the Welland Canal, which overcame the 326-foot plunge of the Niagrara River and Falls, between Lakes Erie and Ontario. The Seaway became fully operational in April 1959 and was officially opened on June 26th by the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. President Dwight David Eisenhower at ceremonies at St. Lambert Lock near Montreal and dedicated the next day in Massena, NY by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Vice President Richard Nixon. 

To tap the considerable potential energy of the river’s volume and current, the Seaway project included the construction in the International Rapids section of the Iroquois Control Dam near Iroquois, Ont., and the Moses-Saunders Power Dam near Cornwall. The project created the 30-mile-long Lake St. Lawrence. Generation of hydroelectric power began in July 1958 and has provided abundant and inexpensive electricity to the North American power grid since that time.

 

Most observers of the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway maritime industry know about the the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority's ambitious plans to relocate the Port from its current location in downtown Cleveland to roomier quarters east of downtown on property fronting Lake Erie. Ostensibly, this plan will give valuable downtown lakefront property back the the city for development.

Toward that end the port authority is planning to host an open community meeting tomorrow to continue dialogue about how best to give back the downtown waterfront to the people of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. The meeting will take place Thursday, July 9th, from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Louis Stokes Wing at the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, 525 Superior Avenue, in downtown Cleveland. The event is being co-hosted by the Cleveland City Planning Commission and the Cleveland Public Library. This is the second in a series of open community meetings scheduled through September 2009. These meetings build upon the “Connecting Cleveland” Waterfront District Plan.

The purpose of the public meeting is to make sure that the Port responds to ongoing feedback from citizens and business leaders and utilizes it in crafting the best and most inclusive development strategy for the downtown waterfront. This public input is vital to the success of the implementation strategy process—both for the proposed port relocation near East 55th Street and the creation of a world class downtown waterfront that connects the citizens of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio to Lake Erie and all its opportunities for recreation, cultural events and commercial activity. The Port will also share some preliminary ideas and concepts for the waterfront and introduce the development strategy team led by Stanton Eckstut of EHRENKRANTZ ECKSTUT & KUHN Architects, world renowned waterfront planners.

“We have an incredible opportunity to develop Cleveland’s waterfront and give it back to the people for their enjoyment,” said Adam Wasserman, President of the Port. “Now is the time to make things happen with a well organized strategy and translate the plan into action.”

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson further emphasized the importance of advancing the Waterfront District Plan, “My administration is confident we are headed toward creating a spectacular and realistic approach to transforming our most prized asset, our waterfront,” said Mayor Frank Jackson.

The downtown waterfront development is made possible in part because of the proposed maritime port relocation further east. The US Army Corps of Engineers is required to dredge the Cuyahoga River ship channel, and the resulting land mass created in a Confined Disposal Facility (CDF) is suitable for a state of the art maritime Port, capable of attracting a great deal of new maritime business.

Construction on the CDF is projected for 2012. During this time, the Port also plans to begin commercial maritime activities, which will allow for additional downtown development. These efforts will ultimately lead to the creation of sustainable jobs, maritime business investment, and an overall boost to the economy in Northeast Ohio.

Dr. Eric Johnson, Real Estate Director for the Port Authority said, “The Port and its partners are poised to make transformative investments in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, extending our economic impact into Ohio and beyond. We think that through our partnerships, we can greatly expand both the economic development and business opportunities in the Region.”

Over the last few months, the Port, the City of Cleveland Planning Commission and the development strategy team led by EE&K architects have met with multiple constituent groups, business and community leaders and citizen stakeholders to hear valuable feedback about the strategies for waterfront development and maritime Port relocation. Most importantly, they have discussed the multiplier effects that a new state of the art Port at East 55th Street will have upon the adjacent, underutilized industrial corridor—effectively creating an International Trade District for Cleveland and Ohio.

A faint glimmer of hope for a struggling North American industrial economy was offered early today in the form of cargo tonnage statistics released by the U.S. and Canadian corporations that jointly operate the St. Lawrence Seaway. The figures made available to The Seaway Channel this morning reflect tonnage levels through the end of June and reveal a slight but significant improvement in overall tonnage and tonnage of certain cargo categories compared the May statistics.

Through the end of June, combined overall Seaway cargo tonnage was down by just over 35 percent compared to this same time last year. Combined overall Seaway tonnage at the end of May was down by 39 percent compared to the same period in 2008. This four percentage point month to month improvement  in combined overall cargo tonnage in comparison to last years figures give some analysts hope that the North American industrial economy may have finally bottomed out.

Some of the factors fueling the optimism regarding Seaway cargo tonnage are the improvements in tonnage levels for certain core Seaway commodities compared to the May numbers. For example, iron ore tonnage, while still down by more than 58.2 percent compared to June 2008, the deficit at the end of May was a wider 63.7 percent compared to the same time in the previous year. Similarly, while coal tonnage at the end of June was off by 44.3 percent compared to the end of June 2008, at the end of May 2009 coal tonnage was 48 percent lower than it was in May 2008.

The biggest improvement in the Seaway's cargo picture this year has been the substantial rebound in grain exports through the Seaway. Grain tonnage through the Seaway this year is up by nearly 24 percent compared to last year at this time. Canada's farmers are supplying much of the impetus for that tonnage increase as Canadian grain throughput has increase by more than 26 percent and U.S. originated grain traffic has increased by more than 12 percent compared to this time in 2008.

Where the Seaway's tonnage statistics will end up this year is anyone's guess. It will be difficult, if not impossible to make up the tonnage dropoff in the first half of 2009 this year. However, it looks like things may be getting better before they get any worse.