MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee paid a visit to Grant County Wednesday to discuss the clean energy economy growing in Moses Lake.
"The most pivotal in our ability to defeat climate change and grow our economy, it would be battery construction and design," Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee said.
Inslee was just one of several state leaders attending the ribbon cutting at the site of the future plant.
"We're building a new economy in Eastern Washington that the world is going to look to for relief," He said. "So, you can't overstate how important this is both to Washington and to the world."
Rosendo Alvarado is the manager for the future plant.
"It's a great opportunity," Alvarado said.
Alvarado is from Moses Lake and has seen the area grow the past decade.
"Moses Lake is seeing more of this type of growth, and it can be a partner within the community to develop other things that are necessary for individuals in the community," Alvarado said.
The new electric vehicle battery plant is being built by Sila, a next generation battery materials company. Sila says its batteries will help electric vehicles charge faster and travel farther.
"We're seeing the industry develop seeing the uptake for EVs has been tremendous," Sila CEO Gene Berdichevsky said. "And we need to do more of it."
Berdichevsky expects to hire 500 new employees for the new facility. The goal is to produce material for a million vehicles by the year 2028.
"The vision is to power the world's transition to clean energy," Berdichevsky said. "We want every car sold in the us to be electric."
The governor says the new plant will not only help the environment, but also, give the state its own independence to produce this material.
"It's not just good for jobs in Eastern Washington, it's good for national security because now like 90% of the graphitic material comes from China," Inslee said. "We want to have an independent source."
After visiting the future battery plant, Gov. Inslee took part in a roundtable with Habitat For Humanity leaders about helping low-income families get through winter. The conversation focused on how they can save money in the long-run through winterization and other energy efficiency upgrades.
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