HANNIBAL — Gov. Ted Strickland will attend Monday’s scheduled open house of Voith Hydro’s planned manufacturing facility in Hannibal which will manufacture equipment for American Municipal Power’s hydroelectric generation projects currently under development.

The event, hosted by both Voith and AMP, is from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the facility at 42722 Ohio 7 which is expected to employ 40 workers.

According to a joint press release from both organizations, Voith’s facility will manufacture stators for the generators to be used at the run-of-the-river hydroelectric facilities currently under development by AMP. The stator is a key component of the generator and typically one of the larger components of the power unit of a hydroelectric project. The particular stator for the Ohio River projects is 30 feet in outside diameter, 10 feet in height and weighs 128 tons.

With the recent award by AMP of contracts to build 11 large horizontal bulb units for hydroelectric projects at the Smithland, Cannelton, Willow Island and Meldahl dams on the Ohio River, Voith Hydro determined that it was necessary to develop a manufacturing facility, with river access, to assemble, test and ship the large generator stators.

Voith Hydro has signed a five-year agreement to lease a minimum of 32,400 square feet within an existing manufacturing facility located in Hannibal. One of the primary advantages of the facility is its on-site barge landing that allows for the transportation of the final assembled and tested stators on the Ohio River to the applicable project sites.

The joint press release also states the Ohio Department of Development via state funds (Industrial Site Improvement, Advanced Energy, Appalachian Regional Commission Grant, Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit, Rapid Outreach Grant and Work force Guarantee Grant) will be supporting Voith Hydro with the modernization of the lease area/facility and training of a local workforce. Modernization of the leased space and mobilization of Voith Hydro equipment and management personnel will continue until the receipt of the first stator frame, scheduled to arrive from Voith Hydro Brazil in January of 2010.

“When we signed the contracts with Voith Hydro for the turbines and generators for these projects, we encouraged them to look for a suitable site in Ohio for this portion of the manufacturing,” AMP President/CEO Marc Gerken said. “This hydro development is important for our participating member communities and we’re proud that it will be bringing green jobs to Ohio.”

The press release also says Strickland and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown have been working closely with ODD and Voith Hydro to find a suitable site for the new manufacturing facility.

“Our skilled manufacturing workforce and commitment to innovation positions Ohio to be a leader in producing and supplying green technologies,” Strickland said. “We applaud Voith Hydro for their investment in Ohio. We are investing in the growth of Ohio’s advanced and renewable energy businesses because the industry is creating jobs for Ohioans.”

AMP is developing five run-of-the-river hydroelectric plants at existing dams on the Ohio River, which when complete, will add more than 350 MW of renewable generation to the region. In addition to the projects mentioned above, AMP is working with its member community of Wadsworth to secure the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license on a fifth project at the RC Byrd Dam near Gallipolis.

AMP also continues with its plans to build a coal-fired power plant in Letart Falls. The plant’s air permit-to-install and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits remain under appeal by opponents though AMP still plans to break ground on the facility late this year or early in the first quarter of 2010.