The SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator has generated a great deal of positive energy in the Western New York business community since it opened last December. Today, it’s adding some more.
Apex Offshore Wind, LLC (Apex Offshore), a national developer of wind energy facilities that delivers clean, renewable energy, has selected the incubator to house a new regional office as it expands its business from its Charlottesville, Va. headquarters. The incubator’s proximity to the wind-friendly Lake Erie shoreline gives the company a strategic advantage as it expands both its development and production initiatives.
“We are delighted to welcome Apex as our newest tenant,” said Incubator Director Robert Fritzinger. "They are the second tenant from outside of the state to select out facility, which gives us a great deal of confidence that the business community is recognizing the many advantages and attributes that this facility and its affiliations can offer a young, growing entity."
Apex was formed in 2008 by a management team that has been in the wind business since 2000. The company also has offices in Erie, Pa. and Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The Apex management team has completed over $1 billion in wind power facilities in Colorado, Kansas, New York, Texas, Wyoming and the Netherlands. Its track record includes $22 billion of structured finance transactions completed for wind and conventional energy projects.
“We are delighted to be opening our Dunkirk office in the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator,” said Timothy M. Ryan, President of Apex Offshore. “Our office is strategically located near the Dunkirk Harbor which we hope will become a hub for new business development among companies interested in participating in the wind energy supply chain.”
Apex marks the 10th tenant to occupy space in the incubator, and a complement to the Fredonia Shale Institute, which provides an educational resource to landowners, local officials and concerned citizens seeking information about natural gas exploration and production in western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.
“We are starting to see clusters of businesses within certain industries attracted to the incubator, and energy is certainly one of those sectors,” added Fritzinger. “Our access to the winds and waters of Lake Erie, our proximity to natural gas-rich lands, and the expertise we provide with our academic research resources at SUNY Fredonia make this a particularly attractive proposition for entrepreneurs.”
Apex also represents the first incubator tenant that is an expansion office of an existing company, as opposed to the headquarters of a new, start-up business.
