Energy and the environment will be two of the strongest pillars in Saranac Lake's economic development plans if a group of determined residents has its way.

Downtown Saranac LakeAccording to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the group of core local residents has been examining ways to make the Saranac Lake region a hub for environmental and biological businesses. Smart growth is another focus of the recently completed Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, which includes initiatives like commercial redevelopment, business retention and housing. The strategy is the fruit of labors of many organizations, including the Franklin County Legislature and the Adirondack North Country Association.

One area that the strategy sees as hopeful is distributed energy, which takes the workload away from traditional power plants with wind energy, hydrogen fuel cells and other technology.