Is Lathan-based Plug Power pulling the plug on its $290 million green hydrogen fuel plant under construction at WNY STAMP?
Heatmap, a news organization that tracks alternative energy companies, reports that the STAMP site is not included in Plug Power's loan application with the Department of Energy.
Plug Power has preliminary approval for a $1.6 billion loan from the DOE to help it build more fuel plants. The company is aiming to become the nation's first vertically integrated green hydrogen producer, providing customers with fuel, products, and support.
Chris Suozzi, VP for business and workforce development at the Genesee County Economic Development Center, reportedly told a Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate firm that Plug Power's STAMP project is on hold.
Asked to authenticate the quote, Suozzi said, "no comment."
According to Heatmap, Suozzi spoke to PRP Real Estate Management. The firm recorded the phone call.
“They’re not ready to go," Suozzi reportedly said. "They’re on pause. We don’t know what’s going to happen with them at this point.”
Plug Power has not responded to The Batavian with requests for comment, including a spokesperson The Batavian has communicated with before, who didn't respond to an email sent early Friday morning.
The Batavian also reached out to two people in Sen. Charles Schumer's office seeking comment. Schumer has been a major proponent of STAMP and a supporter of Plug Power's initiative. The Batavian has not received a response.
Editor and Publisher has described Heatmap as a start-up news company run by seasoned professionals. The company lists its leadership and reporters on its masthead, and all have substantial credentials.
The story published two days ago indicates a lawsuit filed by the Tonawanda Seneca Nation may be influencing Plug Power's actions.
Environmental justice issues have also been a drag on development. The native Tonawanda Seneca Nation is opposed to the entire industrial park because of the resulting impacts on wildlife, noise and the visual landscape. In April, the Fish and Wildlife Service revoked a necessary permit for a wastewater treatment pipeline that would be used by companies at the park.
Earthjustice attorney Alex Page – who is working with the Nation to fight the project – told me the tribe was told last year by the Energy Department that Plug Power had withdrawn the New York site from its loan application. The Nation will continue to fight the project and DOE’s loan financing to Plug Power on the chance that money could be reprogrammed to the industrial park. Page said: “The Nation remains very, very much opposed.”
When Plug Power received its preliminary loan approval in May, The Batavian published this explainer about the project:
- Plug Power is a New York-based company with headquarters in Lathan. It is a "green hydrogen" company, which means it uses renewable energy sources to convert water into hydrogen fuel, which can be stored in fuel tanks and sold to power vehicles and factory equipment.
- In its 20-year history, Plug Power has never turned a profit. It's annual revenue is currently about $800 million. In 2023, the company reported a $1.4 billion loss.
- Plug Power is building a $290 million hydrogen energy plant in WNY STAMP, the GCEDC-developed high-tech business park in Alabama. The plant is expected to employ 69 people with an average annual salary of more than $70,000. In exchange for the job creation, the company is anticipating $2 million in grants from New York State.
- The company received $118.2 million in sales and property tax exemptions from the Genesee County Economic Development Center. Over the 20-year life of the property tax extensions, Plug Power will make payments in lieu of taxes totaling $2.3 million annually, which will be shared by Genesee County, the Town of Alabama, and the Oakfield-Alabama School District. Each jurisdiction will also receive an increasing amount of property tax payments each year over the life of the agreement.
- In March, the DOE awarded Plug Power grants totaling $75.7 million.
- The DOE loan, if finalized, is expected to help Plug Power complete the WNY STAMP plant, along with five others in the nation, which is reportedly critical to the company generating the hydrogen fuel sales necessary to start achieving profits.
- This phase of the loan guarantee process requires the DOE and Plug Power to negotiate a term sheet, which means "certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions, including negotiation of definitive financing documents, must be satisfied before funding of the loan guarantee" (company statement).
For previous coverage of Plug Power, click here.
