SCHUMER ANNOUNCES $10 MILLION TO BOOST SOUTHERN TIER CLEAN ENERGY MANUFACTURING, STRENGTHEN EXISTING COMPANIES, AND ATTRACT NEW GOOD PAYING JOBS IN CLEAN ENERGY SUPPLY CHAINS IN UPSTATE NY
While Visiting A Clean Energy Company In Southern Tier Earlier This Year, Schumer Promised To Fight For Investment To Help Clean Energy Manufacturers Expand In Region
Historic Fed Investments From Schumer’s CHIPS & Science Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act Are Driving Clean Energy And Tech Manufacturing Back To Southern Tier And America – Now Senator Delivers $$$ To Help Attract More Employers And Help Upstate NY Companies Grow
Schumer: Fed $$$ Will Help Upstate Manufacturers Compete In Clean Energy Economy, Bolster Domestic Supply Chains, And Create Good-Paying Jobs In Rural Communities!
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced $10,000,000 through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to help manufacturers access new opportunities in the clean energy economy. Earlier this year, Schumer visited Ljungström in Allegany County to highlight how investing in clean energy can help Southern Tier companies grow and said he would push for this federal investment emphasizing to further bolster the Southern Tier clean energy industry. The senator said this funding will help provide support and technical assistance to clean energy companies looking to move to and expand in the Southern Tier, boost workforce training, and help strengthen supply chains to help this booming industry grow in Upstate NY.
“From wind to batteries to solar, we are seeing clean energy breathe new life into manufacturing across the Southern Tier, and with the feds investing big to help bring this critical industry back from overseas I want Upstate NY’s powerhouse workforce be primed to land these good paying jobs building America’s clean energy future,” said Senator Schumer. “That is why I am proud to deliver this $10 million federal investment to help Southern Tier manufacturers pivot to clean, renewable energy, give our workers the skills they need, and grow new opportunities building out these in demand supply chains.”
“Senator Schumer has been a steadfast champion for manufacturing across the Southern Tier and Upstate New York. We are deeply appreciative of Senator Schumer’s efforts to deliver this federal investment which will allow us to provide small and mid-sized manufacturers with the resources and technical assistance services they need to access new opportunities in the clean energy economy. As the project’s lead regional NY MEP, AMT is proud to help manufacturers in New York’s fourteen Appalachian counties become more productive, profitable, and globally competitive,” said Carol Miller, Executive Director of the Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology (AMT).
“Senator Schumer has delivered significant federal resources for the Southern Tier, including historic investments to transform the region into a national hub for battery research and innovation. This proposal is an important next step, complementary of those ongoing efforts, that will help grow clean energy manufacturing and strengthen domestic supply chains across Upstate New York’s Appalachian communities. Southern Tier 8 is proud to support this effort given the opportunity it presents to create even more high-quality jobs in the clean energy economy and ensure the region’s continued economic resurgence,” said Jen Gregory, Executive Director of the Southern Tier 8 Regional Board.
“On behalf of Catalyst Connection and our partners, I would like to thank Senator Schumer for his support of this proposal and efforts to secure this major federal investment. Senator Schumer has led the charge to deliver historic investments in our nation’s infrastructure, clean energy, and domestic manufacturing. Now, in partnership with my colleagues in New York, we will be able to help small and medium-sized manufacturers enter new supply chains, address workforce needs, and access opportunities in the clean energy economy that will support the creation of good-paying jobs in rural areas, including local communities across the Southern Tier,” said Petra Mitchell, President and CEO of Catalyst Connection.
Schumer explained that there are significant opportunities for clean energy manufacturing and supply chain expansion in areas like the Southern Tier, but that manufacturers often need help getting involved in the rapidly growing clean energy industry. The funding will be used by a coalition of Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in New York and across Appalachia, including New York-based the Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology (AMT) and FuzeHub, to help manufacturers grow, improve their competitiveness in the global economy while fighting climate change, and access new opportunities in clean energy technology supply chains.
The proposal, titled “Manufacturing the New Energy Economy in Appalachia,” is funded by the ARC’s new Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies (ARISE) Initiative. The proposal is focused on helping manufacturers across a five-state service area access clean energy manufacturing opportunities. The project is estimated to engage approximately 1,085 companies over the project period, including firms located in New York’s 14 Appalachian counties: Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, and Tompkins.
In particular, the coalition will use federal funds to conduct a supply chain and regional asset mapping initiative to identify opportunities for clean energy manufacturing and supply chain expansion. It will also provide direct support of up to $10,000 per eligible company to cover pre-development costs and other expenses before a company launches or expands new production and supply lines. Finally, the core focus of the proposal is for MEP Centers to provide robust technical assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers looking to expand into the clean energy economy, including through workforce training strategies, factory retooling assessments, and product line launch and expansion assistance.
Schumer added that this proposal will help manufacturers access new federal programs, funding opportunities, and other resources he secured in landmark legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and his CHIPS and Science Act. Schumer said that small- and mid-sized manufacturers often do not have the resources needed to harness these opportunities, requiring the assistance of partners who are able to provide robust technical assistance, which is where this $10 million federal investment, matched by over $7 million in local funding, will come in to support manufacturers.
In 2021, Schumer negotiated and secured $1 billion for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to be dispersed over the next five years, starting with $200 million in FY22. This significant boost in funding will be used to support economic development, infrastructure, workforce, and other community development projects as well as programs intended to improve the quality of life, stimulate business growth, and create good-paying job opportunities in local communities like those in the Southern Tier and Western New York.
Last year, in his CHIPS and Science Act, Schumer secured $188 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program; a public-private partnership with a national network of affiliated centers in all fifty states and territories that work to improve the competitiveness, productivity, and profitability of domestic manufacturers. MEP funding supports New York State’s 11 MEP Centers – including AMT and FuzeHub – that work directly with small to midsized manufacturers throughout the state to cultivate the growth of manufacturing and high-tech industries. Since 2021, New York State has added more than 13,300 new manufacturing jobs – leading the nation in manufacturing jobs brought back from overseas – in part because of Schumer’s leadership ushering historic legislation to passage, delivering crucial federal resources for communities statewide, and his staunch advocacy on behalf of Upstate New York’s manufacturing sector.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development partnership agency of the federal government and 13 state governments, focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community, capacity, and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia. New York State receives an allocation of resources from the ARC each year to fund area development in NYS’s 14-county Appalachian Region. The New York counties are represented by one of three Local Development Districts: Southern Tier West (STW) based in Salamanca, NY and comprised of Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties; Southern Tier Central (STC) based in Corning, NY and comprised of Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties; and Southern Tier 8 in Binghamton, NY and comprised of Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga and Tompkins counties.
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