Apollo Alliance, Eagle Manufacturing Corporation Call Clean Energy Investments Key to Halting U.S. Manufacturing Decline

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI - The Apollo Alliance and Eagle Manufacturing Corporation (EMC) co-hosted an event this morning at EMC headquarters in Shelby Township, Mich., to push for federal investments that will create and retain clean energy manufacturing jobs in Michigan and across the country. EMC, a manufacturer of precision automated robotic machinery and tooling, also announced an agreement to make parts and serve as a local distributor for Mariah Power’s Windspire residential wind turbines.

Apollo and EMC touted the “Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act,” a bill authored by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), as the best way to boost domestic clean energy manufacturing and ensure that new clean energy jobs stay in the United States. The bill would establish a 2-year, $30 billion revolving loan fund to help small and mid-sized firms retool, expand, or establish domestic clean energy manufacturing operations and become more energy efficient. Both EMC and Mariah Power are among the 69 Michigan-based companies - and more than 170 across the nation - that have officially endorsed the IMPACT Act.

“Locally produced clean energy will be a crucial component of our state’s economic turnaround,” said Brent Short, CEO and owner of Eagle Manufacturing Corporation. “Our company was built on providing innovative, cutting-edge manufacturing solutions, which is also a fitting description of the IMPACT Act. This bill will put our citizens back to work in good jobs, help rebuild U.S. manufacturing, and allow Michigan businesses to be leaders in the clean energy economy.”

Though the stimulus and renewable energy policies being considered by Congress - such as a Renewable Energy Standard and a carbon cap - will generate unprecedented demand for clean energy parts and systems, 70 percent of America’s clean and efficient energy systems are currently produced abroad, a disturbing trend that IMPACT is designed to reverse.

“U.S. manufacturing was once the backbone of the U.S. economy,” said Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance. “But as other countries have created millions of jobs by investing in their own clean energy sectors, American manufacturing has suffered. The IMPACT Act will help ensure that new clean energy jobs stay in America, and that we’re no longer reliant on other nations to meet our energy needs.”

In June, U.S. manufacturers continued to shed jobs at an alarming rate, accounting for nearly 30 percent of overall U.S. job losses. During the last ten years, Michigan has hemorrhaged manufacturing jobs, contributing heavily to the state’s 15.2 percent unemployment rate - the highest in the country. But a recent survey of 358 Michigan clean energy firms conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that employment in the clean energy sector grew by 7.7 percent from 2005 through 2008, while total private employment declined by 5.4 percent during the same period.

In April, Apollo Alliance released its Green Manufacturing Action Plan (GreenMAP), which was the blueprint for the IMPACT Act. Apollo’s GreenMAP lays out aggressive steps to scale up production of American-made clean energy systems and components while making U.S. factories more energy efficient.

For the full list of IMPACT endorsers, visit ApolloAlliance.org or click here. In addition to Ringo and Short, speakers at today’s press event included: Dave Booth, principal of MasTech, parent company of Mariah Power; Dan Luria, research director at the Michigan Manufacturing Tech Center; Paul Gieleghem, chairman of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners; David Austin, president of IBEW Local 58; and Liesl Clark, deputy director of the Michigan Dept. of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth.

The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of unlikely and diverse interests - including labor, business, environmental, and community leaders - working to advance a bold vision for the next American economy, centered on clean energy and good jobs.