FULTON COUNTY, Ind. -- Duke Energy announced it has selected two properties in Fulton and Wabash counties for its 2024 Site Readiness Program.

The program prepares high-potential business and industrial sites for economic development investments and markets them nationwide to companies looking to expand or relocate their operations.

“For more than 10 years, Duke Energy’s Site Readiness Program has joined with cities and counties across the state to make their industrial sites more competitive,” said Stan Pinegar, president of Duke Energy Indiana. “It’s been a collaborative effort and instrumental tool to bring major economic development wins to the communities we serve – resulting in job creation, new tax dollars and investment in Indiana.”

Officials say Duke has helped prepare 47 properties in its service territory that have won 29 major projects since the program started in 2013, drawing nearly 10,000 new jobs and $14.6 billion in capital investment to the state.

Duke Energy works with Banning Engineering and Site Selection Group to identify high-potential sites, and partners with county officials and local economic development professionals to develop the sites to market to industrial prospects.

Duke Energy awards up to $10,000 to each site to help prepare them to attract projects.

The Rochester South Industrial Park was chosen as a site for potential industrial development based on access to U.S. 31, topography, geotechnical attributes and land availability.

The site is located between two metropolitan centers, New Carlisle and Kokomo, that have collectively seen more than $20 billion in investments in recent years.

“The proposed industrial park represents many things for Fulton County – hope for a renewed and better future and jobs where youth will not have to leave to find good paying employment elsewhere,” said Executive Director of Fulton Economic Development Corporation Michael Ladd, “We look forward to what the future will bring.”

Wedcor Industrial Park in Wabash County has two rectangular lots that amount to over 230 acres of developable land.

All the utilities needed for development are readily accessible. This pre-established infrastructure will allow projects to break ground quicker than if a project were to start from scratch.

Officials say the site’s proximity to Highway 24, as well as Wabash County's strategic location within a day's drive of most of the country, makes this location even more appealing to developers.

“This program is a stamp of approval that due diligence has been completed and is an important step forward in attracting new businesses to our region,” said Tenille Zartman, president and CEO for Grow Wabash County. “We are putting our best foot forward for companies looking to expand or start here in Wabash County.”