Shelby County utility-scale battery manufacturing plant expected to create over 1,500 jobs
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
Gov. Andy Beshear, local elected officials from Shelby County and leaders with a Canadian manufacturer announced a nearly $712 million battery manufacturing plant expected to be operational in Shelbyville by the end of 2025.
The Canadian company e-Storage through its subsidiary Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing will be establishing a Shelbyville plant to build utility-scale 6-gigawatt hour battery cells. These cells are modular and can be packaged into containers, creating large batteries that electric utilities can utilize for energy storage.
The announcement is expected to create 1,572 jobs over 15 years, considered to be the largest economic development announcement in Shelby County’s history and the third largest announcement during Beshear’s time as governor.
“Our commitment is, this facility is going to be so profitable that they come back and say, ‘Maybe we can do a little bit more. Maybe we can go even a little bit bigger,’” Beshear said during an event at the state Capitol this morning. “But we are thrilled at this monumental announcement today and how it’s going to continue to move Kentucky to the forefront of our national economy.”
Utilities across the country are investing significantly in battery storage systems, increasingly to pair with zero-emission renewable energy systems such as solar and wind energy. Such energy sources are considered to be “intermittent,” meaning they only produce electricity when the sun is shining or wind is blowing. But when coupled with battery systems, such energy sources can charge batteries to essentially provide zero-emission power around the clock.
Shawn Qu, the founder of Canadian Solar, the parent company of e-Storage, told a gathered audience at the state capitol that utility-scale batteries would become increasingly important with the expected rise in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and increased domestic manufacturing.
“Battery cells are the heart of an utility-scale energy storage system. Therefore, this project will put Kentucky to the center of the effort to build a robust and secure electricity grid for this country,” Qu said.
Shelby County Judge-Executive Dan Ison touted the work done by the governor, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers and state lawmakers representing Shelby County to bring in the project, and Shelbyville Mayor Troy Ethington called the announcement “transformative.”
“Shelbyville continues to become one of the fastest growing communities in the Commonwealth, and we’ve been preparing for a moment like this over the last four to five years,” Ethington said. “Our local economy will experience a renaissance. We are proud of the strong small businesses in our community of Shelbyville, and this expansion will give them the support they need to flourish.”
e-Storage is eligible for up to $35 million in tax incentives if it’s able to create the anticipated jobs and pay an average hourly wage of $25.34 across those jobs.
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