The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains selected Mainspring Energy on October 22, 2024, for an $87 million grant to build a linear generator manufacturing facility in Findlay Township, Allegheny County, Pa., adjacent to Pittsburgh International Airport. The award is made under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Advanced Energy Manufacturing & Recycling Grants Program. Mainspring, founded in 2010 in Menlo Park, Calif., said it expects to break ground in 2025 on the roughly 300,000-square-foot plant, which sits in a coal-affected region near Pittsburgh.
What it means
The facility is designed to produce 1,000 linear generators per year, a volume Mainspring said could meet the electricity needs of approximately 250,000 U.S. homes annually. The $87 million DOE grant is part of a total investment of $175 million in Southwestern Pennsylvania covering both building and equipment. Construction is expected to create nearly 300 jobs; once operational, the plant will employ more than 600 people. Mainspring’s Linear Generator scales from 250 kW to more than 100 MW, and the company began shipping the product in 2020.
Under the terms of the award, Mainspring committed to recruiting at least 20% of new employees from underrepresented communities, directing at least 25% of non-production contracting opportunities to minority- or underrepresented-population-owned businesses, and supporting more than 20 apprentices. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the project leverages “the know-how and skillset of the former coal workforce” to advance what she described as forward-facing technologies and community revitalization. CEO Shannon Miller said the facility will provide “domestic supply chain resilience for clean power infrastructure.”
Key facts
- DOE grant: $87 million, awarded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Advanced Energy Manufacturing & Recycling Grants Program
- Total investment in Southwestern PA: $175 million (building and equipment), according to the company
- Facility location: Findlay Township, Allegheny County, Pa., adjacent to Pittsburgh International Airport
- Facility size: approximately 300,000 sq ft
- Annual production capacity: 1,000 linear generators, according to the company
- Jobs during construction: nearly 300; jobs at full operation: more than 600, according to the company
- Linear Generator output range: 250 kW to 100+ MW, according to the company
- Expected groundbreaking: 2025
- Workforce commitments: minimum 20% of new hires from underrepresented communities; minimum 25% of non-production contracts to minority- or underrepresented-population-owned businesses; 20+ apprentices
- Bipartisan congressional support from Pennsylvania Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Chris Deluzio, and Mike Kelly, and Sens. Bob Casey, Jr. and John Fetterman
Source: Mainspring Energy news release (PR Newswire)