[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5606-H5607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     BUFFALO, NEW YORK, RECLAIMED ITS FUTURE BY EMBRACING ITS PAST

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, visitors to the 1901 Pan-American 
Exposition, which was held in western New York, were so astounded with 
the electric light powered by Niagara Falls that Buffalo became known 
across the world as The City of Light.
  Last week, The New York Times reported to the Nation Buffalo is back, 
due again to our investments in renewable energy.

[[Page H5607]]

  In 2005, we won a Federal licensing settlement that directed $279 
million from local hydropower proceeds to redevelop Buffalo's 
waterfront, a transformation that has attracted hundreds of millions of 
dollars in private investment.
  Access to cheap, clean hydropower convinced Yahoo to locate its data 
and call center in Niagara County, again creating hundreds of jobs.
  Meanwhile, the Steel Winds project has built 14 wind turbines along 
Lake Erie in Lackawanna, creating enough electricity to power 15,000 
homes. Along the Buffalo River, the largest solar panel manufacturer in 
the Western Hemisphere is under construction, which will create 3,500 
jobs in the solar industry.
  At the turn of the 20th century, Buffalo led on energy innovation and 
thrived because of it. By embracing its past, Buffalo has reclaimed its 
future.

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