$290 Million Electricity Substation and Green Hydrogen Fuel Production Facility in Genesee County
Significant Investment in Green Hydrogen to Support State's Clean Energy Goals, Will Create up to 68 Jobs at State-of-the-Art Facility
Project Represents First Build at the Western New York Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park in the Town of Alabama
Investment Complements "Finger Lakes Forward" - The Region's Comprehensive Strategy to Revitalize Communities and Grow the Economy
Governor Hochul: "There is a strong work ethic here. I come from just a little bit down the road, the granddaughter of a steelworker at the steel plant. My dad worked at the steel plant in Rochester, he worked at Eastman Kodak, and many other jobs. People are used to working hard. And employers are recognizing that this is in our DNA, that this is what they will get when they come here and invest here. They'll get the very best people. But also to know that this is the place where the clean energy revolution is happening."
Governor Hochul: "We'll have North America's largest green hydrogen production facility. Here in the State of New York. But right here in Genesee County. Let's give that a round of applause because that is the headline. That is the story of today. And this is going to be a catalyst for other people. Do you want to come here? They're going to say yes. Plug Power, they're really smart. They're successful. And what do they know that we need to know? And its location and its people, and it's this place right now. And so we're going to be announcing, we are announcing, $290 million electricity substation and state-of-the-art green hydrogen fuel production, meaning we're making things facility right here."
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that leading alternative energy technology provider Plug Power has begun construction on a $290 million electricity substation and state-of-the-art green hydrogen fuel production facility at the Western New York Science, Technology and Advanced Manufacturing Park located in the Town of Alabama, Genesee County. Plug Power, the first tenant at the new manufacturing park, is also funding the construction of a 450-megawatt electricity substation that will support its hydrogen projection facility and future growth opportunities at STAMP. As North America's largest green hydrogen production facility, the plant will produce 45 metric tons of green liquid hydrogen daily servicing the Northeast region. When fully built, the facility will offer the company's transportation fuel customers pricing competitive to diesel, leading the way to decarbonizing freight-transportation and logistics supporting New York's path to achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050. Additionally, the company has committed to creating up to 68 new jobs.
VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
B-ROLL of the groundbreaking is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of today's remarks is available here.
PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Thank you everyone, thank you. I am so delighted to be back home again. This county was an important part of my Congressional district, and I heard Mark say I was here a few times. I was here a few times a week. And I've been to your candy stores and your shops and your restaurants and your downtown, and had the opportunity to talk about the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and so many other transformative projects. So when I come back home here, it gives me this sense of not just excitement about what we've done in the past, but the possibilities of the future. And ladies and gentlemen, the future is starting today.
This project, with the support of so many people, and the idea has been nurtured and fermented and moved along for literally 15 years, and I want to thank some of the early visionaries, like Steve Hyde, who had a strategic plan for this long before anybody could have imagined that this field could be transformed into the leader of the clean energy revolution and many other projects to come. Also, Senator Mary Lou Rath, there you are, had a hand in this when she represented this area. And so many other people, our elected officials, our Assemblymembers. Senator Ed Rath, and Steve Hawley, carry on your mother's tradition, of course, give the mom the credits here, Assemblymember Steve Hawley and Shelley Stein. We've had so many meetings over the years. Literally just less than a year ago, we sat together in Batavia Town Hall with Rachel and Steve, and just said, let's get this done, let's get this over the finish line. And I want to thank all of them. And also our local elected officials, our Town of Alabama Supervisor Rob Crossen. I come out of local government, so it's all about local government to me. Our Genesee County legislators, Gregg Torrey, Legislator Gordon Dibble.
Thank you for never giving up, for always having the faith. Your persistence and patience has paid off. And that's what today is all about. So, Mark, thank you. Please give our love and gratitude to Steve Hyde. I know he had a very important family commitment, which he could not get out of. I know what it is and he's smart to be with his family today. Keep the longevity of the marriages going, I believe that. And to Andy Marsh, thank you for just seeing the possibilities here. We were so excited to be there in Rochester when you announced opportunities there just about a year ago. I'm going to come visit to see the expansion that you're talking about, but it's companies, it's people and it's also places.
And this place has been just crying out for an opportunity like this to show what it was really made out of. And the location, and I've always said this, this region is spectacular because of its proximity to larger urban areas, but as you heard from Mark, the educational institutions and the training and the investment in people to give the employers who find this place on earth, knows that they're going to have some of the best qualified, most educated, trained workers on this planet right here in this region.
There is a strong work ethic here. I come from just a little bit down the road, the granddaughter of a steelworker at the steel plant. My dad worked at the steel plant in Rochester, he worked at Eastman Kodak, and many other jobs. People are used to working hard. And employers are recognizing that this is in our DNA, that this is what they will get when they come here and invest here. They'll get the very best people. But also to know that this is the place where the clean energy revolution is happening. Outstanding, outstanding. And I want to thank when I think about clean energy revolutions, my friends at NYPA. John Koelmel and what Gil Quiniones has done, and he will be sorely, sorely missed. You have just really harnessed the power of the Niagara River and spread that energy across this state. Literally spread the energy across the state. But to invest in here and to send a message that this project is important enough to have your investments. But also the transfer of electricity here and power here, and the conversion into green hydrogen. That's not happening anywhere else. Nowhere else are they being that creative, it's happening here in Genesee County.
And as a result, we'll have North America's largest green hydrogen production facility. Here in the State of New York. But right here in Genesee County. Let's give that a round of applause because that is the headline. That is the story of today.
And this is going to be a catalyst for other people. Do you want to come here? They're going to say yes. Plug Power, they're really smart. They're successful. And what do they know that we need to know? And its location and its people, and it's this place right now. And so we're going to be announcing, we are announcing, $290 million electricity substation and state-of-the-art green hydrogen fuel production, meaning we're making things facility right here.
The first tenant of our new manufacturing park, STAMP, and also the construction of a 450 megawatt electricity substation that'll support its hydrogen facility and future growth. Let me put an exclamation point on that, we're ready for the future because of these investments.
And we're going to be creating more jobs and it'll be expected to produce 45 tons of green hydrogen daily. I don't even know what that looks like, but it sounds like a lot. Doesn't it? I mean 45 tons of anything sounds like a lot. So green hydrogen is a buzzword that's out there now, as we consider our, all the approach to our fight against climate change, this is how it's happening. And we're going to establish that this works. And the whole ecosystem that's being created here. And I know this will be talked about in a couple of minutes by Andy.
What he's doing in Rochester has a direct bearing on here. Think about what happened during the pandemic. People stayed home, they shopped online. Amazon and facilities like that showed up on the door every day to bring them toilet paper, right? Paper towels, all those things sometimes dinner. How does it get there? Forklifts, forklifts, and facilities that are being built everywhere. How do you power the forklifts? The question is why not power them with the clean energy of green hydrogen? That's the ecosystem we're talking about here - how there's a direct connection between what's happening here - these investments in Rochester and here today are leading to this green energy revolution and it has a direct effect on what's happening, literally in our homes.
That's what fascinates me, establishing the ecosystem, where we see the big picture, and we also incentivize at various points, what this looks like. This is $1.5 million from my NYPA directly as well as 10 megawatts of power. Is that right, John? That's the right number? I don't want to give too little or too much. 10 megawatts. Also our Excelsior credits program tax credits for all the jobs are being created to tune of $2 million. And I'm so excited to see this in action, and to send a message to the rest of the world: It's happening here in New York, because of people 15 years ago, who never gave up on a dream. Genesee county, congratulations! You are part of the story of my new administration, where we are going big or we're going home. And that means with respect to our investment in our green energy future, it's going to be an all-the-above approach, making sure we have the most aggressive boldest, clean energy initiatives in the nation. And we're spurring over $29 billion of private investment along with our public investment. And we're going to be creating 12,400 megawatts of green energy. Again, a big number, but that's going to power over 6 million homes. It's happening now.
This is not a futuristic dream, it's happening now. And I'm going to tell you, I'm going to continue making these investments in the state of New York. We're going to bring jobs home, right here and upstate as well. And I will not be a stranger. We have sent so many more announcements between Buffalo, Rochester, Genesee County, Batavia, the whole Finger Lakes region is on fire. We are bursting out of the constraints of this pandemic. We are all tired of it and hopefully next time we get together, we're all vaccinated, nobody wears a mask and we say, this pandemic is behind us. That is my goal. My number one priority is to put this behind us. So all the pent up demand and all the people cannot wait to see their visions become a reality in places like this. There's no stopping us now, my friends. So thank you very much for persistence. For patients and keeping the faith. That's why we're here today. Congratulations.
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