By meeting companies half-way, Massachusetts has taken sincere steps towards bringing new, lasting jobs into the state. Recently, the commonwealth approved an aggressive financing package for FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp., a “developer of wind energy technology,” which led the company to establish its headquarters and primary research and development center in Waltham. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/jLPp9)“FloDesign has been recognized for its ‘transformative’ technology by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and I am pleased to see this innovative Massachusetts company choosing to stay and grow right here, creating jobs and helping Massachusetts show the nation and the world the way toward a clean energy economy,” said Governor Patrick about FloDesign’s decision.
To encourage its expansion into Waltham, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) offered FloDesign a financing deal totaling $3 million. The largest component of this deal was a $1.7 million allowance from the Renewable Energy Trust to reduce the company’s cost of constructing wind turbines for public entities and nonprofits in the state. The second largest portion of the deal came in the form of a $700,000 forgivable loan. As long as FloDesign maintains its headquarters and research center in Massachusetts and creates or retains at least 150 jobs over the next three years, which remain for no less than an additional two years, the company will be freed from repaying the loan. Finally, the remaining $600,000 of the financing deal was in convertible grants, which provide MassCEC the ability to acquire equity in FloDesign in the future as the company grows.
“In a very competitive process, the Commonwealth developed a financing package that allows FloDesign to accelerate its job growth in Massachusetts,” Lars Andersen, CEO of FloDesign explained. “We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and are excited to have strong partners in Governor Patrick and the MassCEC.”
FloDesign holds more than 170 patents and patent applications for its cutting-edge wind turbine technology. Presently, using comparably sized turbines, the company can churn out more than three times the energy produced by traditional wind turbines. In recognition of its success, in 2008, just one year after opening, FloDesign was awarded the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize.
“I commend the Patrick-Murray Administration for acknowledging the important innovative work that FloDesign Wind
Turbine Corporation is doing to develop clean energy alternatives and solutions. I think it is a testament to the city of Waltham that once again, given its rich history as the birthplace of the industrial revolution, we are on the cusp of new technologies moving Massachusetts into the future,” said Representative Peter Koutoujian about FloDesign. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/86bvoD)To date, FloDesign has raised over $40 million in venture capital financing. The US Department of Energy has also awarded the company an $8.3 million grant as part of its Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy program.
In this situation, everyone wins: FloDesign is given the means to expand its operations, Massachusetts gains new jobs, and clean energy initiatives get a cash infusion. Strategically creating mutually beneficial relationships with promising companies, such as FloDesign, looks to be a practical use of state money and a solid way of further strengthening Massachusetts’ economy.
[Sources: http://bit.ly/86bvoD, http://bit.ly/jLPp9, http://bit.ly/9KLzdF]
