SELKIRK — Plug Power, Inc. was before the Planning Board again on Tuesday, only this time to propose a different endeavor involving performance testing within the town’s existing industrial district.
The power cell manufacturer has proposed to lease a building and approximately 1.35 acres at 435 Creble Road to conduct performance testing of its stationary power units.
The site is already zoned as Heavy Industrial and the proposed project is a permitted use. The Latham-based company does not propose any site modifications, nor any building modifications. According to the site plan paperwork, it intends to use the site for testing the transfer of gaseous hydrogen.
The hydrogen will be located in up to two mobile tube trailers. Those tube trailers will be rotated into and out of the site to be refilled elsewhere. Hydrogen will be fed from the tube trailers into the stationary power units tested via temporary flexible hoses.
Once a unit has completed its performance testing, it will be loaded onto a truck and shipped to the end user. No units will be stored onsite.
Up until 2020, the site was previously owned by Security Supply, a plumbing supply wholesale company, that used the site for indoor and outdoor warehouse storage.
According to Plug Power, is already accustomed to truck traffic with a frequency of up to four trucks a day. The company stated that it has submitted plans to the Town due “to a change of use only.”
An application has been submitted to the Albany County Planning Board to review the application at its September 15 meeting.
— Michael Hallisey
