President's Commentary
Message From Mike Seward
March 26, 2010
By: Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
The Bay Area, and our Great Lakes Bay Region, has the opportunity to become the leader in developing Michigan's new economy and to become the center of energy generation, development and innovation throughout the United States, thanks to members of Your Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.
General Motors has made two recent announcements that they will invest tens of millions of dollars in the Bay City Powertrain Plant to produce components for the new electric Volt engine?as well as the new age, fuel efficient Ecotech engine.
Dow Corning Corporation is developing the next generation of solar panels and other solar energy equipment.
The Center of Energy Excellence for Solar Energy Development in America is being planned for location at their Headquarters Campus, here in Bay County.
Dow Corning is expected to invest more than $1 billion in these innovative, high tech programs.
Hemlock SemiConductor, of which Dow Corning is the parent company, has already invested more than $1 billion in their production operations. New plans call for an anticipated investment of another $1 billion.
Dow Chemical has begun construction of the new Dow Kokam Battery plant. The batteries produced by Dow Kokam will power the automobiles of the future.
Dow Chemical Powerhouse Solar Shingles will be produced in new manufacturing facilities in the Great Lakes Bay Region.
Dow Chemical will also develop facilities here to produce the low cost carbon fiber for advance wind turbines. These three new Dow Chemical research and production facilities total $1.3 billion.
Bay Future, with support of your Bay Area Chamber, is leading efforts to locate wind generation equipment manufacturing facilities in Bay County. It makes sense to produce components for the giant wind generators in Bay City where we have ship, rail and truck transportation available.
In order to produce these new energy innovations, it is imperative that we produce the base load energy necessary to power the operations that is needed to develop our new economy.
We need to continue to let the Michigan bureaucracy and governors office know that we support the $2.3 billion new Consumers Energy clean coal plant at Karn Weadock.
Taken together, these developments, by Bay Area Chamber of Commerce members, will generate nearly $7 billion in new investments and create more than 2,000 new jobs.
0202 nd 04-30-2024
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