Mr. Shaman
Senior Member
- May 4, 2010
- 23,892
- 822
- 48
"Standing in a field at the edge of this Lake Michigan shore town, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the battery plant to be built here symbolizes the promise of electric vehicles to help revive Michigan's battered economy.
The president's visit was one stop on a nationwide promotion of electric vehicle developments this week by members of his administration. It coincided with the release of a Department of Energy report outlining how federal stimulus funds have helped quickly develop viable battery and electric vehicle manufacturing processes.
He came to Michigan because the state was "hit harder than anywhere else," and because the Holland site is prepped to become a $303 million plant that will produce lithium-ion batteries for advanced-technology vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt and the electric Ford Focus.
The plant will serve as the westernmost point in a far-reaching web of facilities serving the burgeoning electric vehicle manufacturing industry that, as Gov. Jennifer Granholm said, could transform Michigan from "the Rust Belt to the Green Belt."
The plant is being funded through a $151.4 million Energy Department grant awarded under the government's Recovery Act. LG Chem is investing $151.5 million.
Work on the 650,000-square-foot Holland site began last month.
The plant will be able to produce enough battery cells for up to 250,000 vehicles and will create more than 400 jobs by 2013, in addition to hundreds of construction jobs.
The Compact Power plant, and a second battery plant being opened nearby by Johnson Controls Inc., will create about 1,000 jobs within 18 months in a city with about a 15 percent unemployment rate."