Inside Schenectady's growing GE Vernova factory
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Coming off the announcement that General Electric (GE) Vernova would be investing $96 million into its Schenectady County operations, NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski was invited to tour the Schenectady factory. His last visit was in 2023 while employees were finishing up their first wind turbine.
Many workspaces in building 273 were filled with different wind turbine pieces. They don’t stay long enough to collect dust either. That’s because the team has put together 150 in just 2024.
“Our team is responsible for basically custom tooling, custom machining,” described John Kass of the Continuous Improvement Team. “You don’t bring our team the prints. You bring us the problem and when you’re building generators and things, you can always find something new and a new way to do it better.”
GE Vernova factories and facilities around the nation are being invested into by the company along with state and federal funding. It totals $600 million to meet growing electricity needs.
Locally, the Schenectady factory is receiving money from a pool of $96 million to further increase wind, gas and other energy sources. “We have seen a bit of a resurgence in the nuclear industry as well,” stated Brian Carlson, Plant Manager. ”Replacements as they extend the life of their power plants so really it’s a one-stop shop in Schenectady to support all the different industries.”
Officials said their main goal is to decarbonize the world with clean energy. Another part of that $96 million is going toward the Advanced Research Center in Niskayuna. There will be two new laboratories along with two other buildings being rehabilitated.
75 jobs are expected to be created as a result of this spending. “It’s pretty big impact for Schenectady to have it here,” emphasized Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara. “This rebirth of General Electric to bring these jobs back, it means it puts us on the map as a global leader in so many ways.”
GE Vernova has already placed an order for more equipment to make even more wind turbines. The Schenectady factory expects to receive them during the summer of 2025.