(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/27/2024) The Senate Appropriations Committee is considering giving Dow Chemical $120 million in Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund money so it can update its R&D, expand its silicon manufacturing and update the infrastructure at its Michigan Operations Industrial Park in Midland.

Dow representatives said they were looking to become carbon-neutral by 2050 and these upgrades would help move them toward that goal.

The Michigan Strategic Fund Board already approved the SOAR money along with a 15-year, 100 percent State Essential Services Assessment tax exemption worth up to $454,450, a 10-year Renaissance Zone extension and an early termination of the MEGA tax credit worth $20 million.

A claw-back provision would be included in the terms and would need a $785 million investment at the project sites and retention of 5,000 jobs through 2032. The awards would be reimbursed to the company for half the expenses, up to $120 million.

The biggest concern from Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Detroit) involved the jobs portion of the project. She wanted to know if the jobs discussed already existed or would they be new jobs. She also wanted to know how long the jobs would exist.

“That has been the crux of my irritation with providing these types of dollars to companies here in Michigan. It's that we provide appropriations to support the company, grow the companies, but two, three, four years down the line people are getting laid off,” Santana said.

Dow officials said the jobs needed to be retained until 2032.

No action was taken on the funding.