Harckham Announces State REDC Grant for IBM in Yorktown

Yorktown Heights, NY – New York State Senator Pete Harckham announced today that IBM (International Business Machines Corp) received a state grant from the Round XI of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative for energy efficiency measures at three locations, including the Thomas J. Watson Research Center, the Yorktown Heights headquarters of IBM Research, under the New York State Energy Research & Development (NYSERDA) Commercial & Industrial Carbon Challenge program.

“IBM is continuing its ambitious commitment in decreasing the total amount of greenhouse gases generated at its facilities around the world, including here in the Hudson Valley, and I am pleased that substantial state funding will help see this vital initiative through,” said Harckham. “The work to eliminate carbon emissions at the Watson Research Center should signal to other major corporations, colleges and hospitals that the time to take serious action to thwart the climate crisis is now.

With this REDC grant funding, which totals $2,609,100, IBM will pursue a portfolio of 16 energy efficiency measures at the Watson Research Center and locations in Armonk and Poughkeepsie. The projects will include HVAC upgrades, the installation of a geothermal heating system, and datacenter cooling upgrades.

The state grant funding for IBM is part of $196 million being awarded to 488 REDC projects statewide that will support community revitalization and business growth.

“As the climate crisis becomes more urgent, IBM recognizes that the most effective way to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions is to make our operations more efficient and thereby reduce our actual consumption of energy”, said Vanessa Hunt, Technology Managing Director and IBM Senior State Executive, New York State. “IBM looks forward to applying the REDC grant funding to deliver additional energy conservation results.” 

The Thomas J. Watson Research Center, built in 1961 in Yorktown Heights, New York, serves as the headquarters of IBM Research – one of the largest industrial research organizations in the world – and its multiple labs on five continents. Scientists at the lab work with businesses, governments, and academic institutions on pioneering scientific breakthroughs across today’s most promising and disruptive technologies including the future of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and quantum computing.