FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A battery manufacturer has selected Kentucky for a nearly $712 million project to produce industrial-sized batteries used to store and distribute energy, a process seen as increasingly important to help secure a reliable electric grid for the country, officials said Friday.
The Shelbyville Battery Manufacturing plant will employ 1,572 workers once the project reaches full capacity, deepening Kentucky’s ties to emerging battery technologies. Companies wanting to make batteries to power vehicles have announced projects expected to total nearly $12 billion in new investments and create more than 10,280 fulltime jobs in Kentucky.
“With this investment, we’re putting our stamp on working to become just the battery capital of the United States,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in announcing the new project to be located in Shelbyville.
Production at the Shelbyville battery plant is expected to begin in late 2025.
The plant, a part of Canadian Solar Inc., will produce batteries used by utilities and other customers to store energy at large scale. The batteries are about 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and nearly 9 feet tall, the company said. They can be paired with solar, wind or other forms of electricity generation and are seen as playing a crucial role for both a green energy future and a secure power grid as demand for electricity continues to grow in the U.S.
The batteries can keep a steady flow of power when sources like wind and solar are not producing. For example, when people are sleeping and thus using less electricity, the energy produced from wind blowing through the night can be stored in batteries — and used when demand is high during the day.
“Energy storage is a crucial part of the new and evolving electricity grid,” said Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar. “Battery cells are the heart of a utility-scale energy storage system. This project will put Kentucky at the center of the effort to build a robust and secure electricity grid for this country.”
Canadian Solar has a global presence in the design and production of battery energy storage systems for utility-scale applications. Kentucky’s ties to the company will only strengthen the Bluegrass State’s role in the energy sector, Beshear said.
For centuries, Kentucky coal helped power the nation. Now, the Shelbyville plant will produce batteries used across the country to help ensure a reliable flow of electricity for consumers, Beshear said.
“This is energy security for the United States,” the governor said. “It’s in our national security. And this company choosing to do it in Kentucky means we’re going to be a part of providing that security for the entire country’s infrastructure and in the grid.”
The battery factory will be the largest economic development project in Shelby County’s history and ranks as the third-largest jobs project announced during Beshear’s nearly five-year tenure as governor.
Shelbyville Mayor Troy Ethington called the project a milestone for his community, located just east Louisville. It will become Shelby County’s largest employer, creating new opportunities for residents, he said. The company said it is committed to hiring locally to fill the jobs. The Shelbyville facility also will include a research and development lab to help advance battery technology, the company said.
“This investment ensures more Kentucky families will thrive, and that the commonwealth’s incredible economic momentum continues,” Beshear said.
State officials offered a package of performance-based tax incentives for the battery project, tied to the company’s investment, job creation and employee wages, the state said.