Erie Mill

“Located at 1540 E Lake Rd, Erie, PA 16511 (coordinates 42°08'34.8"N 80°03'10.8"W), this 73.1-acre former paper mill and coal-fired power plant site is situated along the shores of Lake Erie (see Figure 23 and Table 12). The generating facility retired in 2002 with a capacity of 44.5 MW. The property, owned by SB3 LLC, has been largely cleared except, with three smokestacks remaining from the former Hammermill/International Paper complex. A portion of the site has been redeveloped as the SB3 Industrial Park, which includes office space available for lease (Erie Times-News, 2025). An adjacent 73.6-acre parcel under common ownership remains available for redevelopment. Together, the nearly 150 acres are zoned for industrial use with its terrain classified as slightly rugged. The site is treated as a presumptive brownfield, but there is no known soil or groundwater contamination. FEMA designates the site as having a very low natural hazard risk and minimal flooding risk. The parcel and nearby parcels are not located within or adjacent to a documented coal mining area and are, therefore, considered to have minimal mine subsidence potential. The site has easy access to major highways, the rail system, and the water. Transmission lines and a substation are adjacent to the site, and a natural gas pipeline lies ~3 miles away. Broadband is installed close to the site. The closest generator is ~40 miles away. The site sits ~1 mile from the Marcellus shale formation. The nearest wastewater facility and brownfield site both are ~1 mile away. There are ~288,666 people within 30 miles of the site.”

PATER Part A report, section 4.7, page 41

Report name

Erie Mill

Address

1540 E Lake Rd, Erie, PA 16511

Coordinates

42°08'34.8"N 80°03'10.8"W

Fuel

Bituminous Coal

Zoning

Industrial

Ruggedness

2 = Slightly rugged

Brownfield designation

Presumptive

On-site contamination

None known

Groundwater contamination

None known

FEMA natural hazards risk

Very low

FEMA flood hazard

Minimal

Population within 30 miles

About 288,666 (report estimate)

PJM transmission zone

PENELEC

Evaluated for

New large load

The report places sites in the PENELEC transmission zone in its large-load category, because expected generation additions there exceed projected load growth (pages 76 and 79).

The acreage-based generation estimates in Table 28 cover only the sites in zones evaluated for generation, so this site does not appear there.

Current status

Part A candidate. Part B will narrow the 21 sites to 5 to 7 priorities.

Next step

Part B will rank the sites and validate the top 5 to 7 through site visits (page 103).

Public comment

Written comments on Part A are accepted under PUC Docket No. M-2026-3059601 through October 14, 2026.

Review meetings

The report says PATER Study Review Meetings are planned for October and February (page 103).