A New York Town Once Thrived on Fossil Fuels. Now, Wind Energy Is Giving a Lift.
Wellsville was a 20th-century boomtown that boasted a refinery and manufacturing jobs making parts for power plants. In a second act, it's now making components for wind turbines.
WELLSVILLE, N.Y.—This former oil town almost 300 miles from the coast is emerging as one of the early winners in the push to develop offshore wind in the Atlantic Ocean.
The hulking steel components of wind turbines slated to rise out of the ocean east of Long Island are being welded at the Ljungström factory, which for 100 years has sold parts to coal-fired power plants. Plant managers here said their pivot to wind has meant hiring 150 more people and could reopen a facility that has been dormant for several years.