New York State Incentives Explained: Part 1

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Posted by Jennifer Savage in General - December 10, 2009

New York State’s robust business incentive programs make it an ideal location for green manufacturing and industrial businesses, and recently has attracted some of the industry’s key players. Below is an outline of some of the Empire State’s incentives:

Manufacturing Assistance Program (MAP) provides:

Grants of up to one million dollars to manufacturers locating companies in the state that will employ fifty to one thousand employees

Requirements for MAP:

Transform materials through mechanical, chemical, or physical means into new, value-added products
Export 30% of their goods beyond their region
Use environmentally friendly processes

Overlapping requirements for companies benefitting from MAP and New York State’s Industrial Effectiveness Program (IEP) have further encouraged the growth of green technology in NY State industrial business. New York State is motivating these businesses to use green technology in order to receive a high level of funding.

IEP Funding provides:

50,000 dollars in government assistance to identify, develop, and implement improved management and production processes

The Empire Zone program has been another driving force of business growth, giving incentives to businesses located in these zones that will create new jobs or beneficial investments.

Benefits for zone certified companies include:

Tax credits for equipment mainly used in manufacturing, processing, assembly, industrial waste treatments, air pollution-control facilities, and R&D or financial institutions
A state sales tax refund for materials purchased and used in construction, expansion, or rehab of industrial or commercial properties
Reduced energy costs for new facilities

Mascoma is a prime example of how New York State programs have brought green, high tech facilities to the state. Mascoma creates cellulosic ethanol from non-food alternative energy sources from the material found in the cell walls of plant fiber.

Their feedstock is often considered a waste or by-product, consisting of woody substances such as switchgrass. This is a characteristic of all cellulosic ethanol that makes it an economically attractive fuel source. As a requisite of their large state grant, Mascoma must create ten to fifteen jobs over the next three years in high-paying, high tech positions.

Mascoma received extensive state grants to build this biorefinery, including:

Tax refunds under the Empire Zone plan
Capital from biotechnology state funding
$14.8 million in funding from the state budget allocated to the development of cellulosic ethanol-- this funding is part of a larger initiative promoting the development of high technology industries like biotechnology, which are expected to be a major source of economic revenue in years to come.