Major investments in the Monroe County region are included in the $7.5 billion in energy projects being terminated in the wake of the federal government shutdown.
Hydrogen fuel cell companies Plug Power and Ionomr Innovations stand to lose a combined $75 million, according to a breakdown of the cuts shared by House Democrats. Most of that funding was tagged for Plug Power.
In explaining the cuts, the DOE said the programs don’t advance the nation’s energy needs, and aren’t economically viable.
Critics have noted that the cuts largely target programs in Democrat-leaning states and, given the timing – announced Wednesday night, on the first day of the federal government shutdown -- appeared to be political payback or punishment.
“This goes beyond targeting blue states. It’s taking a wrecking ball to working families’ lives: putting construction workers out of a job and raising families’ electric bills for political gain,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said in a news release Thursday.
The effect of these grant clawbacks locally is unclear.
Neither company returned messages Thursday seeking comment. Lawmakers and area development officials were not immediately able or available to comment.
Schumer had joined Rep. Joe Morelle, D-Irondequoit, in announcing the local awards in March 2024, touting the funding as “directly supporting Upstate’s clean energy workforce and supercharging innovation in the fight against climate change.”
“Congress enacted these policies to advance hydrogen and fuel cells as vital components of the United States’ climate strategy,” Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh said at the time. “This funding will advance Plug’s fuel cell and electrolyzer manufacturing capabilities, create good paying jobs in New York, and fortify the region’s leadership in the national clean energy transition.”
The investments aimed to scale-up Plug Power’s Rochester-area manufacturing, with facilities in Henrietta and Genesee County. The Albany-based fuel cell company has been in a shaky financial position of late, and this summer laid off roughly a third of its workforce in the Capital Region. The company has not responded to requests for comment on the status of local operations going back to July.
Vancouver-based Ionomrhas a research and development facility in Brighton.
The funding being rescinded was awarded under the Biden administration. In a statement, the DOE noted that a quarter of the 321 financial awards it terminated were announced between Election Day and Inauguration Day. Award recipients have 30 days to appeal the termination decision, officials said, and some already have begun that process.
