Schumer sees STAMP as ‘the next global hub for the semiconductor and clean energy industries’

Plug Power expected to break ground this fall as first tenant in 1,250-acre site in Alabama, just south of Orleans County off Route 63

Photos by Tom Rivers: U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer was in Genesee County today at the STAMP site in Alabama. He welcomed Plug Power as the soon-to-be first business at the 1,250-acre site and also announced he is making a big push to bring Samsung to the location. Pictured at right is Plug Power President/CEO Andrew Marsh and Steve Hyde (far right), who is president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

TOWN OF ALABAMA – Years of laying the groundwork at the 1,250-acre STAMP site in Alabama will soon be paying off. The first tenant in the park, Plug Power, expects to break ground this fall on building North America’s largest green hydrogen fuel plant.

It will take about 16 months to construct that project. The company said it will have 65-70 workers at the site when it opens.

Plug Power President/CEO Andrew Marsh joins Sen. Schumer at a news conference at STAMP. Plug Power expects a fall ground-breaking at STAMP for North America’s largest green hydrogen fuel plant. It anticipates 65-70 workers at the site.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer visited the site today along with Plug Power executives to tout that project, which will use low-cost renewable energy from the Niagara hydropower plant. The production of the hydrogen will use green energy to make more green energy, company officials said.

Schumer also announced he is making a hard push for Samsung to build a $17 billion semiconductor chip fabrication plant at STAMP, which is one of the sites being considered by the company. Samsung officials visited the site last month, Schumer said.

“The WNY STAMP Campus is the perfect place to establish the next global hub for the semiconductor and clean energy industries,” he said. “Now with STAMP in contention to land Samsung’s $17 billion chip fab and its first tenant Plug Power is building North America’s largest green hydrogen fuel plant here, there’s no site better suited to lead the next tech revolution, and that’s because STAMP, with its shovel-ready facilities, low-cost and reliable utility grid, and top-notch workforce spanning from Buffalo to Rochester and beyond, is tailor-made to suit large-scale tech development.”

The Senate has approved $52 billion in federal incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research and development through the Schumer-led U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). Schumer said it is a matter of national security to be making those high-tech chips in the country.

Many industries also rely on them, including the auto manufacturers which have had to curtail production due to a chip shortage.

Schumer also said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), under negotiation, would include $9.5 billion for new hydrogen fuel investments.

Those federal incentives would “give STAMP the green light it needs to attract and lead established and emerging tech industries,” he said.

Plug Power has seen a boom in business as many companies – Walmart, Amazon and others – use fuel-cell-powered forklifts, instead of battery-powered. The company sees expansion with hydrogen-powered Class A trucks and airport tugs. Plug Power can not only promote hydrogen power, but can say it was produced using renewable hydro-electricity available at STAMP.

Schumer said the STAMP site with Plug Power and the future tenants will “benefit all of the GLOW Region, including Rochester and Buffalo.”

Steve Hyde, GCEDC president and CEO, praised Schumer for championing the STAMP site, helping to secure funding for infrastructure and critical tax incentives to make the site attractive for businesses. “He’s been a stalwart leader driving projects to the region,” Hyde said about Schumer.

A new Hydrogen Fuel Production Tax Credit is included in the Budget Reconciliation Bill and would help enable Plug Power to grow and expand its green hydrogen fuel production levels at its sites, including the new STAMP site, Schumer said.

Currently the STAMP facility is expected to make 45 tons per day of green hydrogen fuel, but Plug Power estimates the Production Tax Credit will drive higher demand for green hydrogen powered equipment that in turn will enable Plug Power to produce and sell more green hydrogen fuel.

Plug Power estimates that 20 to 25 additional permanent jobs will be created for every additional 15 tons per day of fuel produced. Ultimately, Plug Power’s goal is to produce as much as 500 tons of green hydrogen fuel across its planned U.S. production facilities including the STAMP plant.

Plug Power said it looks forward to the fall ground-breaking of the hydrogen fuel production facility at STAMP and opening a new gigafactory in Monroe County to manufacture hydrogen electrolyzers and hydrogen fuel cell components.

Plug Power President/CEO Andrew Marsh said hydrogen will make up more of the country’s energy needs and the STAMP project, as well as a Plug Power manufacturing site in Rochester, puts the region at the forefront of bringing “affordable hydrogen to the market.” Plug Power has 1,700 employees with 1,000 in the U.S., and the company is growing with the projects in Genesee County and Rochester.