LATHAM, N.Y., May 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, hails the announcement of the Fuel Cell Industrial Vehicle Jobs Act of 2010, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) on April 28, 2010.
The Fuel Cell Industrial Vehicle Jobs Act of 2010 makes material handling fuel cell vehicles eligible under the existing Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit for Qualified Fuel Cell Motor Vehicles. In doing so, this bill extends financial incentives to material handling vehicles which will facilitate large-scale conversions to green technology at manufacturing and distribution centers across the country.
"Helping America's businesses grow and rebuilding the economy are my top priorities," said Congressman Paul Tonko. "The Fuel Cell Industrial Vehicles Jobs Act of 2010 enables a local, innovative business the opportunity to grow and create jobs, while also bringing parity between our neighbor, Plug Power, and major corporations. Our energy and tax policies should inspire growth, partnership and innovation in order to provide cutting edge jobs and products. I believe this bill will do just that."
"We applaud Congressman Tonko for introducing this forward-thinking and effective legislation. This bill can create thousands of green jobs in his district, in New York State, and throughout the country," said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power.
"The North American material handling market currently represents a total available market of over $4 billion annually," continued Marsh. "By encouraging growth in the fuel cell industry, this legislation promotes commercially viable green technology solutions in this sector."
The passage of this bill and the projected sales momentum it will generate also strengthens commercial partnerships, such as the recently announced agreement with The Raymond Corporation to jointly sell and market GenDrive fuel cells in Raymond forklift trucks. Plug Power's ability to seek and execute these critical business relationships will continue to drive purchase orders and sustain Plug Power's leadership position in the material handling market.
"Clear guidance on the tax credit and grant programs will stimulate demand for manufacturing jobs, supply chain and field service positions in support of fuel cell powered lift trucks," said Chuck Pascarelli, President of the sales and marketing division of The Raymond Corporation.
"I'm proud to support this bill and to fight for the economy of Upstate New York," said Congressman Scott Murphy. "I will continue to work with Plug Power to build clean energy jobs and make our region a world leader in the 21st century innovation economy."
About Plug Power Inc.
Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG) is an established leader in the development and deployment and commercialization of alternative fuel cell technology. Revolutionizing the way the world thinks about clean energy, Plug Power has installed more commercial fuel cell systems in the motive and stationary power markets than anyone else in the industry. The Company is actively engaged with private and public customers in targeted markets throughout the world. For more information about how to join Plug Power's energy revolution as an investor, customer, supplier or strategic partner, please visit www.plugpower.com.
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Plug Power Inc. Safe Harbor Statement
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are not able to accurately predict or control and that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the risk that the certain favorable legislation is not enacted in whole or in part by Congress; unit orders will not ship, be installed and/or convert to revenue, in whole or in part; the cost and timing of developing our products and our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund such development costs; the cost and availability of fuel and fueling infrastructures for our products; market acceptance of our GenDrive and GenSys systems; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with third parties with respect to product development, manufacturing, distribution and servicing and the supply of key product components; the cost and availability of components and parts for our products; our ability to develop commercially viable products; our ability to reduce product and manufacturing costs; our ability to successfully expand our product lines; our ability to improve system reliability for both GenDrive and GenSys; competitive factors, such as price competition and competition from other traditional and alternative energy companies; our ability to manufacture products on a large-scale commercial basis; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the cost of complying with current and future governmental regulations; the impact of deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry on demand for Plug Power's energy products; and other risks and uncertainties discussed under "Item IA-Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 16, 2010, and the reports we file from time to time with the SEC. We do not intend to and undertake no duty to update the information contained in this communication.