Feds’ $87m investment in new manufacturing plant in Pa. could create nearly 900 jobs

Pennsylvania officials this week celebrated securing a “game-changing” $87 million in federal funding to help a clean-energy company build a new manufacturing plant that will create nearly 900 jobs.

The funding will come from President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Republicans opposed, and will help California-based Mainspring Energy build a 292,000 square foot, “state-of-the-art” linear generator manufacturing plant near Pittsburgh International Airport in Allegheny County.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called the funding a “game-changing investment” for southwestern Pennsylvania. The project is expected to create 891 jobs, about 300 in construction and 600 for operations.

“With this funding, Mainspring Energy will create good-paying and high-skilled manufacturing jobs and continue southwestern Pennsylvania’s legacy as an energy leader on the forefront of cutting-edge technology,” said Casey in a joint statement. “Pennsylvania workers are the best in the world, and I will keep fighting for good-paying manufacturing and construction jobs across our commonwealth.”

Sen. John Fetterman said that “western Pennsylvania has always been America’s industrial backbone and the Department of Energy’s investment in Mainspring Energy carries that legacy forward. This move propels us toward a carbon-pollution-free future while keeping our economy strong, competitive, and union-built.”

On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that the state would invest $8.6 million in the project to help Mainspring recruit workers for the project.

“Pennsylvania is making strategic investments to boost key industries like energy and manufacturing, and Mainspring clearly recognizes that we’re the best state in the nation for companies that want to grow and thrive,” Shapiro said in a statement. “We’re doubling down and competing aggressively for great projects like this that are helping position Pennsylvania as a leader in economic development, job creation, and innovation.”

Mainspring’s generators are used to provide power for hospitals, supermarkets, data centers and other facilities across the country. The new plant will produce about 1,000 generators annually, enough to power 250,000 homes.

Casey, Fetterman and Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris DeLuzio, who represents the area, had pushed the U.S. Department of Energy for the funding. The money is available from a program to build new manufacturing sites or retrofit existing ones in communities where coal mines and coal power plants have closed.