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("retentive enterprises"), inducing demand that • Reduced economic concentration, as shown by shifts in the Shannon- <br /> facilitates higher wage capabilities of local businesses. Weaver and HHI indexes toward a more balanced, higher-value <br /> distribution. <br /> WASHINGTON STATE SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION • Integration into statewide innovation clusters, positioning Ellensburg as a <br /> key node in aerospace, ag-tech, and clean-technology supply chains. <br /> Old Heat is also designed to position Kittitas County as a connector within <br /> Washington's broader high-value supply chains. The facility creates a link Given the urgent needs of the Kittitas County Region to address low wage <br /> between Yakima County's agriculture industry, King County's aerospace stagnation, the Old Heat project is strongly focused on ensuring the area has <br /> sector, and Wenatchee's emergent clean energy and technology industries. flexibility and resiliency to readily absorb new technology and economic sectors <br /> For Yakima County, Old Heat provides a commercialization site for agricultural into the local economy's historic foundational elements. By serving as an on- <br /> equipment and smart technology firms that can pilot and scale innovations ramp for legacy firms and a launch pad for new enterprises, Old Heat directly <br /> tested in the area's farms and processors. For King County's aerospace sector, addresses the region's historic over-reliance on low-wage service industries. <br /> Old Heat offers an affordable launch pad for smaller aerospace and precision Its role as an "accelerator of accelerators" ensures that diversification is deeply <br /> component suppliers that must remain within proximity of Puget Sound but embedded in the capabilities of the region, its workforce, and its institutions. <br /> cannot absorb Seattle's escalating costs. For Wenatchee, Old Heat functions as The outcome is a more diverse, resilient, and competitive economy that is able <br /> a complementary node, supporting applied research ventures and technology to sustain growth, retain talent, and drive innovation for the larger regional and <br /> firms whose products are an integration of energy, computing, and agricultural State economies. <br /> markets. <br /> The IMPLAN results demonstrate how these supply chain linkages translate <br /> into measurable impact. The projected aerospace and precision component <br /> manufacturing activity associated with Old Heat generates some of the highest <br /> employment multipliers in the analysis, indicating strong downstream effects <br /> across professional, technical, and support services. Similarly, the agricultural <br /> technology sector modeled in IMPLAN produces a significant output per worker, - .. T "' <br /> showing the potential to raise productivity and wages in one of the region's E . <br /> historically lower-wage industries. Clean technology and advanced materials <br /> exhibit robust indirect and induced impacts, reinforcing Old Heat's role as a <br /> platform for industries with broad spillover effects. <br /> LONG-TERM OUTCOMES <br /> By 2030, the expected impacts of Old Heat's diversification role include: <br /> • Expanded industry mixes with measurable growth in advanced technology <br /> sectors. <br /> • Retention of local graduates and reduction in talent out-migration. <br /> • A more resilient wage base, with an increasing share of jobs above county s, <br /> median income. <br /> Old Heat CERB Feasibility Study 157 <br />