Pocono News Section

Hundreds of New Jobs Coming to Northumberland County

Hundreds of New Jobs Coming to Northumberland County - Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 6:24PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Wednesday, Oct 1, 2008 @ 06:24pm EST
COAL TOWNSHIP, NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY - A central Pennsylvania county wants to become the global leader in the energy industry. Northumberland County is making a big push to bring back old coal land and bringing 400 new jobs in the process.

Community leaders and the public came together Wednesday afternoon as two new renewable energy companies announced plans to move in.

"These new companies mean a new beginning, a new life blood, literally for us," Stephen Bartos said. Bartos is the Northumberland County Planning Director.

The two companies are Northeast Bioenergy and Intelliwatt. They'll both use the area's rich coal land to produce biodiesel by bringing in soybeans from local growers.

"The agricultural producers in this county and many neighboring counties send soybeans out of state, so we're going to be keeping the transportation right here locally," Michael Coia said. Coia is the CEO of Northeast Bioenergy.

Over the next two years, the two companies are expected to created between 200 and 400 new jobs.

"There's no reason that Northumberland County and the region can't be the new Saudi Arabia of renewable energy. I've always said there's gold in green and this is an indication of that," Rep. Chris Carney said.

In addition to the announcement, county leaders also announced a comprehensive plan to bring even more companies into Northumberland County. It involves a marketing plan, pushing for new funding and creating a special energy incubator.

The push for new companies is expected to continue for the next five years.