LANSING – The headlines definitely point to the kind of week we had at MEDC: “Gov. Jennifer Granholm announces more than 17,300 new jobs for Michigan,” “Yacht maker Four Winns to hire 2,320 workers in Cadillac,” and, my personal favorite, “2,500-Job Surge to Energize Michigan.”

On Thursday, company leaders, community representatives, local partners, the Capitol Press Corps and Governor Granholm filled the Lake Michigan room (and even the front reception area) to see the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board take action on eleven projects expected to bring $804 million in new private investment and 17,271 new jobs (5,689 direct and 11,572 indirect) to Michigan in all sorts of industries and sectors like solar and advanced battery, electric vehicle powertrains, aerospace, auto R&D, IT, recycling and boat manufacturing.

Dow Chemical was one of the star attractions with its investment of $600 million for a new solar manufacturing facility and other projects that will generate an estimated 6,100 new jobs, including 1,700 new direct jobs. The MEGA board also approved an advanced battery tax credit for Dow?s joint venture Dow Kokam and the Michigan Strategic Fund board approved a Center of Energy Excellence designation for Dow?s wind materials operations.

The solar project is expected to generate $249 million in private investment and create 6,100 new jobs in the value chain, including 1,275 direct Dow jobs. Additional projects could create up to an additional 425 jobs and $351 million in additional investment.

The advanced-battery credit will support phase II of Dow Kokam?s manufacture of lithium ion packs. The company is investing $342 million in this phase of the project, which is expected create 480 total jobs.

And, the Centers of Energy Excellence designation means a $5 million grant for Dow to establish operations focused on cost-effective carbon-fiber materials for application in the wind-energy and transportation sectors. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a global leader in the development of new materials and processes for the manufacture of carbon fibers, will collaborate with Dow.

We are working hard to make Michigan the clean-energy capital of North America, and these Dow alternative energy projects move us closer toward that goal. Our investments in green, clean-energy manufacturing are creating jobs, making our state the international hub of the clean-energy economy and helping Michigan transition to a new 21st century economy.

Other Highlights from the day included a $63 million investment by Four Winns LLC in Cadillac. The manufacturer of recreational fiberglass boats is expanding and restarting the production of multiple models that were halted in 2009. Over the next several years this could mean over 2,300 new jobs in northern Michigan with the potential of a couple of thousand more indirect jobs. Three of the companies from yesterday are new to Michigan. Cobal Holdings is moving its Indiana recycling operations to Sturgis, Texas-based Advanced Integration Technologies is locating in Chesterfield Twp and Korea-based TSC is setting up shop in Northville.

Combined, these companies and their projects are an object lesson in diversification. Not only that, they are all businesses that had any number of choices on where to locate within the U.S. and overseas; places like North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, Mexico and South Korea. In the end, they all chose Michigan – proving that our strategy is working and we continue to move the needle in the right direction.

This column was written by Greg Main, President and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. To learn more about the MEDC, click on MichiganAdvantage.Org

a>>