Obama awards $35 million in stimulus tax breaks for Wisconsin manufacturers; C&D awarded $19 million Army contract; Oshkosh Corp. lands another military contract
Obama awards $35 million in stimulus tax breaks for Wisconsin manufacturers
President Barack Obama announced that his administration is awarding $2.3 billion in tax credits to the private sector for clean energy manufacturing projects across the country, including eight companies in Wisconsin that will receive $35 million in tax breaks.
A total of 183 projects across the nation will receive the tax breaks, which are part of the federal economic stimulus package passed last year.
The White House said the projects will create 17,000 jobs and will boost U.S. manufacturing of advanced clean energy technologies including solar, wind and efficiency and energy management technologies.
“Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future,” Obama said. “The (tax credit) awards that I am announcing today will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions and increasing our energy security.”
The Wisconsin recipients of the tax credits are:
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Milwaukee-based ZBB Energy Systems is receiving a $14.8 million tax credit. The manufacturer of energy storage systems for utilities has significantly expanded its facility and capacity over the past year.
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Waukesha Electric Systems Inc. is receiving a $12.45 million tax credit to expand its plant in Waukesha to product large, high-voltage power transformers. The company anticipates that more than 80 percent of them will be used to help bring renewable energy to distant load centers or to replace aging, less efficient transformers.
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Caledonia-based CalStar Products is receiving a $2,443,547 tax credit to manufacture bricks and pavers from coal power plant fly ash. The process uses 88 percent less energy than traditional fired clay products, while avoiding the carbon dioxide emission associated with concrete, and makes beneficial use of fly ash.
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Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Kaydon Corp. is receiving a $1,774,800 tax credit to re-equip and expand its manufacturing facility in Milwaukee to produce pitch and yaw bearings used in the production and assembly of wind energy turbines.
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Milwaukee-based Ingeteam Inc. is receiving a $1,665,299 tax credit to manufacture wind turbine generators in various technologies. The company will also manufacture power converter and control systems for the wind and solar industries.
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Wausaukee Composites Inc. is receiving a $930,810 tax credit to manufacture fiberglass wind turbine components.
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Kaukauna-based Bassett Inc. is receiving an $868,500 tax credit to manufacture wind turbine towers and foundation components for all sizes of turbines and a $75,000 tax credit to manufacture carbon capture and sequestration systems to extract and trap carbon from waste systems from coal fired power plants.
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Waukesha-based Cooper Power Systems LLC is receiving an $846,180 tax credit for its new facility that will be producing high efficiency transformers.
C&D awarded $19 million Army contract
C&D Technologies, Inc., a battery manufacturer with an expanding Milwaukee facility, has won a four year, $19 million contract by the U.S. Army for the development of large-format lithium-ion battery systems.
The new advanced lithium-ion battery systems will be developed and produced in C&D’s Milwaukee operations, which has been a focus for renewed investment for the company over the last two years.
C&D began a $26 million upgrade to its Milwaukee facility last August. The upgrade could add up to 150 new jobs, the company said previously.
The technologies developed under the Army contract will also be utilized in meeting the needs of C&D’s commercial customers, with potential application to large-scale grid-energy storage, renewable energy applications and distributed power for telecommunications systems, in addition to broader application in other branches of the military. The result will be a sustainable, domestic U.S. source for high performance, large-format lithium-ion batteries, with the potential for achieving economies of scale to ensure affordability in a range of military and commercial applications.
"This contract will allow C&D Technologies to establish a world class research and development facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including pilot production capability dedicated to large-format lithium-ion batteries, and will establish a domestic manufacturing base for C&D designed lithium battery systems," said Dr. Jeffrey Graves, president and CEO of C&D Technologies.
Oshkosh Corp. lands another military contract
Oshkosh Corp. announced that its Defense division has received another order valued at more than $290 million from the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC) to deliver more than 725 next-generation Palletized Load Systems (PLS) A1.
The order was issued under the U.S. Army’s existing Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV) contract. Production will begin in April 2010 and be completed in September 2011.
"The modernized PLS A1 delivers superior performance and protection capabilities to help deliver supplies and equipment in some of the U.S. Army’s most demanding operations," said Andy Hove, Oshkosh Corp. executive vice president and president of the company’s Defense division. "The PLS truck and trailer combination can load and unload a variety of heavy-payload cargo, which helps eliminate the need for material-handling equipment and results in leaner, more efficient logistics units."
The PLS A1 is the next generation of the PLS, which Oshkosh has manufactured for the U.S. Army’s distribution and resupply needs for its most challenging military missions.
