“If a transmission line is running through a rural area, it will start to get noticed. Site selectors and companies are becoming more creative in their problem solving for sites.”
– Rachel Huser
Senior Economic
Development Manager, WVPA
Economic developers in communities of all sizes are receiving proposed multibillion-dollar projects larger in scale than they’ve ever seen, several presenters said at a conference earlier this year.
Attendees at the Women’s Summit hosted by Consultant Connect featured a variety of sessions to support women in the male-dominated economic development industry. At the summit, site consultants also discussed the unprecedented number of proposed mega projects that are seeking information for potential sites across the U.S. Federal incentives for manufacturing semiconductors and electric vehicles have been a major driver in the unprecedented interest, said Rachel Huser, senior economic development manager for Wabash Valley Power Alliance who attended the conference.
Federal incentives for manufacturing semiconductors and electric vehicles are considered to be major drivers in unprecedented interest in proposed large-scale economic development projects.
“Overall, the deal pipeline we’re seeing right now has exploded in both quantity of deals and increase in deal parameters demanded,” Huser said. “Economic developers are trying to better navigate the changing seas of economic development given the number of projects and the large capital investments we are seeing.”
Several speakers compared current projects to when federal incentives were available to spur growth in domestic solar panel manufacturing, Huser said.
“If you have a diverse base of businesses, that allows the community to not depend on one particular industry,” Huser said. “It can lead to a more recession-resistant community that provides more employment opportunities for local residents. Diversification will encourage and promote an economy that is not just a flash in the pan.”
The increase in economic development activities mean that more businesses are starting to consider locations they previously didn’t consider, Huser said. Rural areas in particular “have exploded in attention,” she noted.
“If a transmission line is running through a rural area, it will start to get noticed,” Huser said. “Site selectors and companies are becoming more creative in their problem solving for sites.”
The summit included insights and resources to support women working in economic development roles. Presenters discussed the importance of self-care, as well as ensuring that colleagues also are prioritizing their well-being, Huser said.
“The reason for that is even though all of the activity is increasing tenfold in demands and size, if you take care of your team and yourself, there will be a beneficial ripple effect in the work that is done by others,” Huser added. “The prioritization of taking care of those who are on your team was a huge learning lesson for me.”