Biden Touts Clean Energy At Cummins Inc.’s Fridley Power Generation Facility

Air Force One hit the tarmac at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport, and President Joe Biden was off to his first stop on his “Investing in America” tour: Fridley, Minnesota.

President Biden stopped at Cummins Inc.’s Fridley power generation facility on April 3 to praise the company for its plans to add a hydrogen electrolyzer production facility and to speak to Cummins employees.

“I’ve asked most of the CEOs I’ve come into contact with, I ask them a question repeatedly: When the U.S. government makes considerable resources available for new industries, what does that do to businesses?” Biden said. “Dissuade them or encourage them? And the answer every single time is it encourages them to get in the business.”

Cummins is currently in the process of turning the factory floor that Biden spoke on into a clean energy technology production area, in addition to their hydrogen electrolyzer facility. Cummins received funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to assist in building these new facilities.

The IRA, passed in August 2022, invested $369 billion in Energy Security and Climate Change programs over 10 years. In addition to kickstarting the green energy initiative, Biden said it also gives more jobs to U.S. manufacturers.

“When Cummins first manufactured hydrogen electrolyzers, they had to make them overseas,” Biden said. “These are the machines that make clean hydrogen, a renewable energy, used to power our economy from clean cars to trucks to steel to cement manufacturing. But now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act … Cummins is going to manufacture these electrolyzers here in America for the first time.”

Cummins President of Power Systems Business Unit Jenny Bush spoke with ABC Newspapers about Cummins' push to build the electrolyzer facility, saying that it has been a goal for the company to become carbon neutral. Bush said the hydrogen electrolyzer facility is an essential first step.

“We’ve been working for a long time on our strategy of ‘Destination Zero’ and that’s really about the transition of our company to diesel engines, all the way through clean energy,” Bush said. “The electrolyzer is a key piece of technology because that allows you to take water and create clean hydrogen.”

Bush explained that the clean hydrogen can be used to create clean, carbon-free power.

It’s a big change for a company that is known for its diesel engines, but Bush said that it’s essential for the 100-year old company to adapt to current market needs if they want to exist for another century.

“Diesel engines have been our legacy,” Bush said. “To continue to exist as a company means we need to transition what we do and how we play in the world’s economy and that allows us to transition our product from being a diesel product all the way through clean energy in the future. We have a lot of commitments about driving a zero carbon footprint by 2050 for this company. We have a strategy in operation today and this is a big piece of it here.”

Fridley is Cummins’s biggest generator set facility in the United States, employing over 1,000 people. Construction on electrolyzers has already begun, and product is expected off the lines in two weeks from Monday’s speech.

Cummins is in the process of retraining 600 employees currently working on diesel engines to run these new clean energy production lines, and plans to hire 100 new employees.

Biden said that the jobs and clean energy opportunities won’t stop at Cummins, as Minnesotans can expect to see electric vehicle infrastructure statewide as IRA funds continue to be awarded.

“We’re building a network of 500,000 electric vehicle stations all across America,” Biden said. “Right here in Minnesota, when you’re driving across I-94 or taking I-35 through the Twin Cities, charging stations will be easy to find. As easy as it is to find a gas station today. Folks, we’re providing incentives for companies like Cummins to manufacture clean energy technology right here in Minnesota.”

Biden said that the initiative to manufacture clean energy technology in Fridley is a part of a greater goal of his to make America a manufacturing powerhouse on the world stage.

He cited Cummins’s history of manufacturing 50% of all of the gas and diesel generators used by the Allies in World War II as a goal to aspire to. He used Minnesota as an example of the shift toward American manufacturing.

“Where is it written that America can’t once again be the manufacturing capital of the world?” Biden asked. “It used to be. We’re telling a different story here at Cummins and in Becker where XCel Energy is investing $600,000 to build the largest solar farm in the state.”

Biden highlighted these projects funded by the IRA, and took time to mention others funded by the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Bill and CHIPS and Science Act, all passed by the legislature in the past two years.

He addressed criticism following these acts, with detractors asking where the funds for such projects will come from. Biden stated that the the costs were already covered.

“We’ve got about a thousand billionaires now in America,” Biden said. “You know the average tax rate they pay? Three percent. You know what would pay for all of this? You hear me talk a lot about the fact there were 55 Fortune 500 companies that made 40 billion dollars and didn’t pay a single penny in taxes. We did an awful thing. They’re paying 15% now. It’ll pay for everything.”

Biden got the crowd involved and asked those in attendance to raise their hand if they think the current tax system is fair. A lone hand from a woman on the right of the crowd, which was filled with Cummins employees, caught his attention.

“All right! We found one million heiress, right over there! She’s not married, propose to her, quickly!” Biden joked.

Biden also criticized the Trump administration during his speech. This comes as former president Donald Trump faces an indictment from the New York District Attorney’s office, for which he was scheduled to appear in court the next day. Biden did not comment on Trump’s indictment and he did not hold a press conference following his speech.

“You hear some of my friends saying, ‘Biden’s really spending, causing great deficits,’” Biden said, then leaning closer to his microphone. “I cut the deficit over two years by $1.7 trillion dollars, more than any president has in the history of the United States of America. By the way, the last guy who had this job, he increased it by two trillion dollars.”

Biden shared a distinction between what he called “your grandfather’s Republican Party” and “MAGA Republicans.” He said that MAGA Republicans were against his clean energy plans and that their budget would end up increasing the deficit three billion dollars while diverting manufacturing jobs overseas. Despite the divides he sees in the current legislature, he still believes that our current political climate has the potential for positive change.

“Too long we sat on our hands,” Biden said. “How in God’s name can we remain the most competitive nation in the world without investing in America? I mean this from the bottom of my heart, I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of our country. It’s just important to remember who we are. We are the United States of America. There is nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity, I believe that with every fiber of my being. When we work together, nothing can stop us.”

SOURCE: Hometown Source