Dow Chemical Co. plans expansions in wind, solar, advanced-battery manufacturing and other projects in Midland, Mich. The projects are expected to total more than $1 billion and create more than 6,900 new jobs, according to Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, D-Mich. The company plans to invest $952 million in future projects and has leveraged an additional $161 million from the federal energy department.
The state of Michigan, through the Michigan Economic Development Corp., approved key incentives to help win Dow's projects over competing national and global sites.
The Michigan Strategic Fund board approved a Centers of Energy Excellence designation and a $5 million grant for Dow to establish operations focused on cost-effective carbon-fiber materials for application in the wind energy and transportation sectors. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a developer of new materials and processes for the manufacture of carbon fibers, will collaborate with Dow. Through ORNL's participation, the U.S. Department of Energy will provide a $5 million match, and Dow will contribute up to $10 million of in-kind resources.
The projects come on the heels of a report titled, ‘American Innovation: Manufacturing Low Carbon Technology in the Midwest,’ released earlier this year, which used economic research from Deloitte to estimate that climate and energy policies could create up to 100,000 new jobs in the region and generate additional market revenues of up to $12 billion, boosting state and local tax revenues by over $800 million by 2015.Â
SOURCE: Michigan Economic Development Corp.
