November 12, 2021

FOLLOWING HIS DIRECT ADVOCACY & SECURING VITAL WINS IN THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE & JOBS DEAL, SCHUMER ANNOUNCES PLUG POWER HAS HEEDED HIS CALL TO OPEN NEW $125 MILLION HYDROGEN FUEL CELL INNOVATION CENTER IN MONROE COUNTY; BRINGING 377 NEW GOOD PAYING JOBS TO THE REGION

Senator Says Plug Power Is a Great New York Success Story & Pledges Support For Company’s Further Expansion, Secures Fed Funding From the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Deal And More

Plug Power Is Sparking Growth In The Local Economy, Creating New Green-Energy Jobs, And Jolting Fuel Cell Manufacturing To New Heights

Schumer: Infrastructure Deal Is The PLUG That Plug Power Needs To POWER Up, Grow, & Create Jobs

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that after his continued advocacy and support, Plug Power has officially opened its new, $125 million Innovation Center in Monroe County. Last year Senator Schumer made a personal call to Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh pushing for the company to select Upstate New York for the site of its newest factory instead of a site in another state that was in contention. In December 2020, Schumer announced that Plug Power had heeded his call and selected Monroe County as the site for its new ‘gigafactory,’ a hydrogen fuel cell component R&D and manufacturing plant.

The new factory will manufacture hydrogen fuel cell stacks and electrolyzers, which will be used to power a variety of electric vehicles and to generate power from renewable green hydrogen. Schumer said the new Hydrogen Fuel Cell Innovation Center is a win-win creating hundreds of new green energy manufacturing jobs for the Upstate economy while also jolting Plug Power’s manufacturing capacity to new heights by tapping into New York’s world-class workforce.

“I’m ecstatic that Plug Power heeded my call to make Monroe County the home of its new Hydrogen Fuel Cell Innovation Center ‘Gigafactory’. Rochester’s powerhouse workforce pioneered cutting-edge hydrogen fuel cell technology and can now help drive Plug Power’s revolutionary clean energy technology to new heights,” said Senator Schumer. “Nearly 380 new clean energy jobs will now supercharge Rochester, positioning the region as a global hub in the green economy. With an unprecedented $9.5 billion federal investment that I just secured in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to expand the hydrogen fuel cell industry and billions of dollars in additional investment for clean technology that I’m fighting for in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill, the Gigafactory’s opening today comes at the perfect time to power up even more Rochester jobs and growth at Plug Power to jumpstart the 21st century green hydrogen economy.”

Schumer has been leading the charge to help Plug Power expand not only in Rochester, but throughout Upstate NY as well. Earlier this year the senator called on the Department of Energy to support Plug Power’s newly proposed plan to construct a $290 million hydrogen facility at the Western NY STAMP site in Genesee county and personally visited the site in September. Plug Power’s new production facility at STAMP would produce green hydrogen to supply fuel-cell-powered equipment and vehicles such as freight transportation and logistics handling equipment – some powered by fuel cells that will be manufactured at the newly opened gigafactory.

“Plug Power is grateful to host U.S. Senate Majority Leader Schumer at our state-of-the-art hydrogen and fuel cell Innovation Center Gigafactory, here in Rochester, New York,” said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power. “The support of Senator Schumer continues to play a key role in helping to bring affordable green hydrogen to the market, while Plug Power expands the clean hydrogen and fuel cell ecosystem in our state. We commend him for his recently secured $9.5 billion federal investment to expand the hydrogen and fuel cell industry in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, which could support Plug Power in creating good-paying green jobs in Monroe County, New York.”

Schumer further explained the recently bicamerally passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes critical new investments in Hydrogen fuel and clean energy. Schumer said the visionary package of billions in new clean hydrogen energy investments comes at the perfect time to power up new jobs and growth at Plug Power.

Schumer highlighted several of these new investments that will potentially aide Plug Power including:

$1 Billion over Fiscal Year 22-26 for a new Department of Energy Electrolyzer demonstration, commercialization and deployment program intended to decrease the cost of making clean hydrogen production from electrolyzers. Plug Power’s new Rochester gigafactory will manufacture electrolyzers which is equipment that coverts water into hydrogen fuel. Schumer said this investment will create new opportunities to partner with the Department of Energy to help drive demand for Plug Power’s innovative electrolyzers.
$500 million over FY22-26 for a new Department of Energy clean hydrogen production and recycling program to foster a clean hydrogen domestic supply chain in the U.S. Schumer said Plug Power’s facilities throughout Upstate would position the company to greatly benefit from this investment and become a major player in the new U.S. clean hydrogen supply chain industry. Schumer noted that Plug Power’s planned network of green hydrogen fuel production facilities, including the facility at STAMP and in Monroe County, can be a national model in efforts to achieve the Biden administration’s goal to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create quality clean energy jobs.
$8 billion for the Department of Energy to establish four or more Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs to demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen. Schumer said Plug Power’s new Gigafactory and Green Hydrogen Manufacturing Plant would position it well to land one of these new industry-leading Hydrogen Hubs.
The development of a national strategy and roadmap to facilitate a clean hydrogen economy. All around the globe, countries are recognizing the importance of hydrogen fuel and are developing strategies to grow their hydrogen economies. It is critical the United States creates a plan and maintains leadership – especially in green, renewably generated hydrogen – to foster U.S. companies like Plug Power and bolster national security.

Schumer also outlined other wins for the Finger Lakes region in the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill. The region will benefit from:

$27,038,025 for Rochester’s Frederick Douglass Airport and $5.4 million for other Finger Lakes airports.
$94.5 million estimated for the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority divided over five years.
The region will also receive a sizable portion of the billions devoted for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds, including a $15 billion carve out within the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to help replace 25,000 lead service lines in the City of Rochester.
$8.5 Billion to remove infrastructure barriers like the Inner Loop North and redevelop it to support existing residents and reverse the racial inequity and environmental injustice it caused. ($7.5 billion for RAISE -formerly TIGER grant program and $1 Billion for a new Reconnect Communities, with billions of dollars in further investment in these projects under consideration in the Build Back Better reconciliation bill)
New local hire program to connect local workers, especially from disadvantaged and underrepresented communities, to high-quality construction jobs on federally-funded transportation infrastructure projects.
The inclusion of the Make PPE in America Act, allowing domestic textile manufacturers like Rochester’s Hickey Freeman access critical federal contracts to strengthen our domestic PPE supply chain and support local jobs.
$13.5 Billion which will help address New York’s crumbling bridge and road infrastructure, with $1.9 billion set aside exclusively for a new bridge replacement and repair program. Monroe County alone has 54 bridges rated in “poor” condition that are estimated to cost over $100 million to repair.
$65 billion nationwide to help expand access to high-speed internet and broadband.
$1.2 billion for the Brownfields competitive grants.
$7.5 billion to build out a national network of EV chargers.
$3.5 billion national investment in weatherization which will reduce energy costs for families.

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