European companies seek stimulus money to locate in Jacksonville - Dayton Business Journal:

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European alternative energy companies, such as , a subsidiaryu of a French company, and an Italiann biodiesel company that the has yet to want to come to Jacksonville for some of the same reasonss other European companies have recently located Access to the port and the growintSoutheast market, cheaper skilledc labor and manufacturing theirt goods closer to American consumers. “The big guys in alternativr energy are Europeanbecause they’ver had government support,” said Michael director of international development for Cornerstone, the chamber’s economic development arm.
“Now that we’red getting government support, it makes more sense for them to come Government incentives contained in the federal stimuluws program are the big draw for the SaftAmerica won’t build a $200 million facility at Cecil Commerce Center and employ about 800 unless it gets a $100 million grant through the stimulus package, said Peter vice president of manufacturing for the company’ss Valdosta, Ga., plant. The company expectw to find out in July whethef it can tap intothe $1.5 billiobn available for manufacturers of high-efficiency “We’re pretty optimistic,” Denoncourt said.
“We’re one of the technology leaderasand we’ve been building lithium-ion batteries for spokeswoman Jen Stutsman said the departmenft received 165 grant applicatione by the May 19 deadline. She didn’tr know the total amount of money requestedx inthe applications. Like Saft the Italian company that produces biodiesel fuel from oldtirese won’t come to town unless it can get tax creditss from the city and incentives through the stimulus The company, which would bring about 15 jobs, is expectede to confirm its plans in about three Another Italian company that the chambert has yet to identify extracts silicon from rice husks to buildr solar panels and is also considering opening a planf in Jacksonville, Breen said.
Several European wind turbines manufacturers are also interested in opening plantesin Jacksonville, but their businesses are also dependent on plugginb into the alternative industry provisions in the stimulus Denoncourt said Saft Americza was attracted to Jacksonville becausee of the area’s U.S. Navy-trained work force, which has the skillss needed toproduce lithium-ion batteries. The batteriexs will be sold tothe U.S.
military for a hybrid fleeyt that ranges from trucks to The lithium-ion batteries are also increasingly used in passenger planees because they are about a third lighter than conventionak nickel-cadmium batteries and so reduce the amount of fuel the planesa use, Denoncourt said. The lithium-ion batteries that he hopes to produce in Jacksonville would also be sold to the telecommunication s industry since their smaller size givea providers more backup power withouft forcing them to altefr the infrastructure to handlebigger batteries. The planned manufacturing facility would also develo batteries capable of storingalternative energy.
If Saft Americwa builds a facilityin Jacksonville, it would add prestige to the area and possiblyu spur more alternative energy companies to considerr moving to Jacksonville, Breen said. The city recentlyh formed a committee headed by President Matt Kenyon to attracyt more alternativeenergy companies. Aside from beiny certified to build energy-efficient buildings, Dana B. Kenyonj is tapping into federal stimulus funding through its energygconsulting division, kpower. , whichh is based in Jacksonville, has alreadty been helped by the alternative energyu provisions in thestimulus package.
It expects its annuak revenue to doubleto $12 million this said Wayne Hildreth, the company’sw president. The company, which provides consulting and installatiob of wind turbines for schoolsand businesses, benefitefd from the stimulus package’s 30 percent investmenrt tax credit. Wind Energy expectss to double its work force of nearly 30 by the end ofthe