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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Siemens Energy Plans Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Transformer Manufacturing Operations

02/15/2024
Global energy technology company Siemens Energy, Inc. plans to establish operations in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. The $149.8 million project is expected to create 559 jobs.

The investment will include the company’s first power transformer manufacturing facility in the U.S. Siemens will also expand its existing Grid Technology engineering operations in Wake County, which provides engineering and related professional services.

“Manufacturing large power transformers in the United States will strengthen and expand our electrical grid to incorporate more renewable energy and meet growing energy demand,” said Tim Holt, Member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy. “We are excited to do that in Charlotte, North Carolina where our existing factory and incredible team is answering the call of our customers and policymakers to help protect our nation’s energy and national security.”

Siemens Energy’s project in North Carolina will be facilitated, in part, by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $1.63 billion. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $6,979,500, spread over 12 years. State payments only occur following performance verification by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

The project’s projected return on investment of public dollars is 118 percent, meaning for every dollar of potential cost to the state, the state receives $2.18 in state revenue. JDIG projects result in positive net tax revenue to the state treasury, even after taking into consideration the grant’s reimbursement payments to a given company.

"Siemens Energy is bringing even more great energy manufacturing jobs to the Charlotte community, and this latest expansion demonstrates once again their confidence in our state and its outstanding workforce,” noted Governor Cooper. “Bringing production of these high voltage transformers onshore not only creates American jobs but makes our electric grid more resilient and ready for the transition to clean energy.”

Because Siemens Energy chose a site in Mecklenburg County, classified by the state’s economic tier system as Tier 3, the company’s JDIG agreement also calls for moving $2,326,500 into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. Even when new jobs are created in a Tier 3 county such as Mecklenburg, the new tax revenue generated through JDIG grants helps more economically challenged communities elsewhere in the state.

“I’m excited to see this expansion by Siemens Energy, one of North Carolina’s most important existing manufacturing companies,” added North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders. “Our state will continue to invest in the programs and tools that pay off in new jobs and private-sector investments, such as our world-class workforce development and training programs that win acclaim around the world.”

Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) on today’s Siemens Energy project were the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Community College System, Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions, the North Carolina Railroad Company, Duke Energy, Mecklenburg County, the City of Charlotte, the Mecklenburg County Economic Development Office, and the City of Charlotte Economic Development Department.

Siemens Energy covers almost the entire energy value chain from power generation and transmission to storage, including conventional and renewable energy technology, such as wind, gas and steam turbines, hybrid power plants operated with hydrogen, and power generators and transformers. The company currently has 21 manufacturing and service facilities in the U.S.

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