Data for Decision-Makers

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels recently made the claim, "Indiana is becoming a location of choice for companies in the renewable energy industry." As a director of research, I reject broad, sweeping claims -- particularly those made by politicians -- unless they are backed up with credible data. It's a "show me the numbers" approach that would make any high school forensics/debate teacher proud.

Governor Daniels, it seems, has the numbers on his side. Hoosiers are already benefiting from an emphasis on alternative fuel vehicles and clean-tech or renewable energy. From 1998 to 2007, the number of sustainable energy jobs in Indiana grew by 17.9 percent, nearly double the growth rate of the rest of the United States, according to The Pew Charitable Trust.

PHOTO CAPTION: Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (left) and Charles Gassenheimer, chairman and CEO of Ener1, the parent company of Indiana company EnerDel, pause for a photo together inside one of EnerDel's manufacturing facilities. Gassenheimer is holding one of the company's lithium-ion battery cells.

Furthermore, consider these recent announcements:

• Lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel will locate its newest manufacturing operation in Hancock County (within the 10-county Indianapolis region) and create hundreds more jobs than originally projected. EnerDel, a developer of batteries and energy storage systems for hybrid, plug-in electric and electric vehicles, will soon have more than 1,400 employees working at three Indianapolis region locations.
   
• THINK, a leading international manufacturer of pure electric vehicles, plans to locate its North American production facility in Elkhart, Ind., creating more than 400 jobs by 2013.
   
• Delphi Corp., a global electronics maker, will establish a new production facility in Kokomo, Ind. (just north of the Indianapolis metro) to manufacture products for the electric drive vehicle market, creating an estimated 190 new jobs by 2014.
   
• White Construction Inc., a contractor for renewable energy projects throughout North America, will expand operations and build its new headquarters in Clinton (between Indianapolis and Chicago), creating up to 70 new jobs by 2012.
   
• According to the American Wind Energy Association, Indiana is a leading state in adding new wind capacity -- ranking second in the nation in 2009 and first in 2008.

Indiana's research universities -- including Purdue University, Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame -- give us an advantage when it comes to attracting and supporting green tech companies. Indiana and Purdue universities alone graduate more than 10,000 science and engineering students each year.

These universities also have formed active partnerships around advancing next-generation battery technology and are working with industry leaders to accelerate technology transfer, curricula and research and development. This collaboration extends to Indiana’s community college network to develop new degree and training programs required to prepare Indiana workers for advanced battery technology careers.

Just as Indy Partnership has traveled to target-rich environments such as California in the U.S. and Germany abroad touting Indiana's clean-tech energy and advanced manufacturing strengths, Governor Daniels has also been aggressively recruiting renewable energy companies to our state, creating thousands of new jobs.

Additional data and more detailed information about Indiana Clean-Tech Energy is available for download in our Clean-Tech Energy packet.

Why Indiana?: Our central location, vibrant workforce, history of innovation, engineering expertise, low cost of business, and more than 100 years of advanced manufacturing success have positioned us to be a robust national hub for the electric and hybrid vehicle supply chains as well as solar and wind energy technologies.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT INDIANA CLEAN-TECH ENERGY
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