West Coast Battery Company EnerBlu plans to invest $372 million in a manufacturing plant in Pikeville. The formal announcement came this morning in eastern Kentucky.
Long-time Congressman Hal Rogers says the expected 875 jobs eventually will be just the right medicine for a region hit hard by coal industry losses. “You’ve been talking about evolving the economy of a whole region of the state. This is a big step in that direction,” said Rogers.
Rogers says EnerBlu will locate in an industrial park that will become known as silicon holler. Lithium- titanate batteries produced in Pikeville will power buses, trucks, and military vehicles.
During this morning’s announcement, Gov. Matt Bevin credited Appalachian people for standing up for their region.
“And we are not going to live down to the stereotypes people have of us. We’re going to dispel those and we’re going to rise above them and blow people’s minds and for people who come for the first time, they’re going to come into this community and say ‘what the blazes’,” noted Bevin.
The firm will also relocate its headquarters to Lexington. The deal includes state tax incentives totaling $30 million along with job training assistance. Construction on the manufacturing facility is set to start next year with the opening slated for 2020
