OSWEGO — Wired Telecom, an Oswego–based early-stage company, has captured the $50,000 prize in the 2018 “Next Great Idea” (NGI) Oswego County Business Competition. 

Wired Telecom provides standardized information-technology (IT) and communication services geared toward medium and large-sized commercial franchise companies nationwide.

Owner Ed Alberts can use the funding to expand the business in Oswego County, according to Operation Oswego County. The organization awarded the prize during a reception held Sept. 18 at the Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center in Oswego. 

“It was a great honor to present our fourth NGI award,” Austin Wheelock, NGI chair and deputy director of Operation Oswego County, said in a release. “Entrepreneurs and small business are the backbone of our economy and the building blocks for growth in our county. We believe that Wired Telecom is an excellent example of this and truly is the ‘Next Great Idea’ for Oswego County.”

The idea for the business emerged from necessity as Albert’s other businesses could not find a reliable IT service so they developed an in-house solution which proved so successful they believed it could be scaled into a business of its own. Alberts says he sees great potential for business growth with local company payroll projected to top $3 million in the next three years.

“We are thrilled to have been selected for the $50,000 Next Great Idea award and will use it to grow our team with local job opportunities and training for installers and IT support professionals,” Alberts said. 

The other finalists for the $50,000 prize were SUNY Oswego graduate student Fabio Machado and his startup company, CHARTA; Matthew Cullipher, of Hope Springs; and Jake Metcalf and Kevin Spillett of Oz Angling.

Judges for this year’s event were selected based on their “local business knowledge and expertise” in the fields of operations, management, financing, and entrepreneurship. The judges included Chena Tucker of the SUNY Oswego Office of Business and Community Relations; David Dano of Operation Oswego County, Inc.; Adam Gagas of Breakwall Asset Management in Oswego; Allison Nelson of the Nelson Law Firm; George Broadwell Jr. of the Broadwell Hospitality Group of Oswego; Vinny Lobdell, Jr. of HealthWay Products of Pulaski; Carla Deshaw of Cayuga Community College Fulton Campus; Ron Tascarella of Pathfinder Bank; John Fitzgibbons, owner of the Fitzgibbons Agency of Oswego; Shane Stepien of Step One Creative of Oswego; and Dr. Sarfraz Mian, professor at SUNY Oswego School of Business, per the news release.

“The $50,000 prize was raised in partnership with local companies, private banks, business organizations, and public and private institutions that see the importance in making an investment in Oswego County’s future entrepreneurs and economy,” Wheelock said.

Sponsors included the Richard S. Shineman Foundation, Operation Oswego County, the County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency, New York Business Development Corporation, SUNY Oswego, and several more area businesses and organizations.     

“Many of us whose work focuses on growing local economies, revitalizing downtowns and protecting our natural and cultural assets felt we needed more information to guide our work,” Kate Fish, executive director of ANCA, said in the release. “We wanted to have a data-driven analysis to help focus where we need to be investing our collective resources and where the highest priority opportunities are for turning around our local and regional economies.” 

Funding organizations for the economic analysis include ANCA, Adirondack Foundation, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, National Grid, Adirondack Council, Clarkson University, Farm Credit East, Paul Smith’s College, St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton, and SUNY Potsdam.

Other findings

The study also found that the population in the region overall is “growing.” However, “with some variation from county to county,” the North Country is losing its 20- to 34-year-olds. Retaining and attracting this group is “foundational” to improving demographic diversity, increasing workforce availability, and stimulating economic growth. 

Strategies to attract this age group focus on quality of life and “placemaking” where young people and families can experience “vibrant and livable communities with strong connections” to the surrounding area. Central to the concept of placemaking is the development of niche or “crafted” manufacturing — a “responsive” manufacturing industry that focuses on small-run, customized and place-based goods produced by local makers. 

Examples include the “growing areas” of craft-beverage manufacturing and value-added local food products. 

“Adirondack Foundation was happy to help support this analysis because of the value it has for shaping the work needed in our region and the work of our partners,” Cali Brooks, president and CEO of the Lake Placid–based Adirondack Foundation, said in the release. “The Adirondack region is a special place in terms of natural beauty, tourism potential and high quality of life. We wanted to dig deeper into the best and most effective ways to attract people to the area and help our communities thrive. This report will help us do that.” 

Findings from the study also helped in the development of the Mohawk Valley Community College “thINCubator,” a makerspace that provides a meeting location for presentations and workshops as well as co-working space for students, freelancers and entrepreneurs. The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, one of the foundation partners for the thINCubator project, is also one of the funding partners for the regional economic analysis. 

“We wanted to support this analysis knowing that it would be extremely helpful in shaping the way The Community Foundation supports projects and programs to stimulate economic growth and community vitality in Herkimer and Oneida Counties,” Alicia Dicks, president and CEO of the foundation, said. “The thINCubator responds to some of the gaps that were identified in the regional study. We believe that by supporting local makers and entrepreneurs, we are promoting a more diverse and appealing business landscape that will benefit all who live and work here.”

CANTON — St. Lawrence University has entered into a new long-term, solar-energy agreement, which the Canton–based school says will significantly boost the amount of clean energy used to power the campus.

St. Lawrence has partnered with AES Distributed Energy and agreed to a 20 year power-purchase agreement (PPA) for a 2.9 megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar system located just outside of Watertown. The PV system, which came online July 18, is expected to produce more than 3 million kilowatt hours per year of clean and renewable energy for the next 20 years.

AES Distributed Energy is a unit of Arlington, Virginia–based AES Corp. (NYSE: AES), according to the company’s website.

The school’s purchase of solar power from the 8,600 PV panels equals 18 percent of its total annual electricity consumption. As a result, the solar-array project reduces St. Lawrence’s carbon emissions 15 percent and will avoid more than 2,200 metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalents each year. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 470 cars from the road, St. Lawrence said.

“This partnership enables us to address a portion of St. Lawrence’s campus carbon emissions and allows us to collaboratively demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of commercial solar projects in the North County,” Ryan Kmetz, assistant director of sustainability and energy management, said in a release.

The school contends the solar project bolsters its climate-action plan, which calls for the St. Lawrence University to reach carbon-neutral operations by 2040.

The solar power “complements” St. Lawrence’s existing 20-year hydroelectric PPA with Gravity Renewables for the Kings Falls hydro dam located in Lewis County. The dam and its power-generation unit were damaged by the storm remnants of Hurricane Irene in 2011, but the agreement with St. Lawrence allowed for the refurbishment and repair of the dam, making it operational again in summer 2016. 

The Kings Falls facility produces about 1.5 million kilowatt hours of hydroelectricity each year for the school.

“AES and Gravity are terrific partners,” Dan Seaman, chief facilities officer for St. Lawrence, said in the release. “And their production facility designs are expected to provide a steady, reliable source of clean electrical power for many years to come.”

The two projects combined will annually reduce about 3,350 metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent emissions each year. Meanwhile, St. Lawrence University is expected to realize a savings of $1.5 million in energy costs over the next 20 years, the school said.