Whitmer issues nationwide challenge: Locate clean energy developments in Michigan
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration announced Thursday a nationwide competition for companies seeking state dollars focused on growing Michigan's battery manufacturing and advanced manufacturing sectors. Funding for the challenge comes from a new state fund aimed at growing Michigan's clean energy sector with the support of federal investments.
Whitmer first called on lawmakers to establish the "Make it in Michigan Competitiveness Fund" last summer with the goal of ensuring federally funded clean energy projects locate in Michigan. Lawmakers have appropriated just over $336.8 million for the fund.
President Joe Biden's administration has tried to spur a manufacturing renaissance in the U.S. with new spending programs included in the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Together, the new laws mark an effort to reverse the offshoring of American manufacturing jobs and spur investment in domestic production.
Now, out of Michigan's competitiveness fund, $125 million has opened up for companies awarded federal dollars looking to invest in Michigan and create clean energy jobs in the state. State leaders are calling it the "Battery Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing Challenge," and battery manufacturers and advanced manufacturing companies can start applying Thursday to receive matching grant dollars from the state for federally supported infrastructure, climate and clean energy projects. That could include jobs related to battery material processing, heat pump manufacturing and solar supply chain development.
"We're looking to blow this industry wide open," said Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II at a "Resilient Michigan Investment Strategy Summit" in Detroit on Thursday morning hosted by the Milken Institute's 10,000 Communities Initiative.
Zach Kolodin — who heads the Michigan Infrastructure Office created by Whitmer — said Michigan faces an "unprecedented opportunity to capture federal dollars."
"The investing in America push by the Biden administration is really a push to redefine how we make things in the United States, and I think it's going to drive a lot of economic growth over the next generation. So the governor believes that we need to position Michigan to be a hub for that kind of advanced manufacturing activity and clean energy innovation in order to drive prosperity for all Michiganders. And using the competitiveness fund as leverage to capture federal dollars and federally supported investments is the best way to do that," Kolodin said.
An evaluation committee will include leaders from across state government to evaluate the quality of jobs associated with a project as well as companies' commitment to upholding workers' rights when deciding how to award state funds, Kolodin said. Applicants will be evaluated, in part, based on the wages, benefits, skill development and union rights protections they would offer workers along with the environmental impact of the project.
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Jigar Shah, who serves as director for the U.S. Department of Energy loan program, called the Michigan challenge fairly unique compared with how other states have tried to land these federal investments. "I haven't seen something this specific to really figure out a way to bring supply chains homes, create good-paying middle-class jobs," he said. And it could better position companies to secure federal loans in the future, Shah said.
Kolodin billed the effort as a way to help Michigan communities that have seen manufacturing jobs disappear and re-create the prosperity they once enjoyed. "Whether we build the next middle class is a policy choice," said Kolodin. "And we're trying to do that with the competitiveness fund." Shah also noted that empty, existing manufacturing facilities in Michigan put the state in a good position to fast-track new manufacturing projects.
Kolodin said it's important for the state to spend its own money to lure investments because there is no guarantee federally supported projects will locate in Michigan, saying the state "has to work to win those investments."
Contact Clara Hendrickson: [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer to clean energy companies with a federal boost: Pick Michigan