Lincoln County lands electric vehicle battery components plant

North Carolina has landed another manufacturing plant in the electric vehicle battery field.

The state's Economic Investment Committee on Thursday approved $5.7 million in grants to Green New Energy Inc. to build a $140 million plant in Denver for production of electric vehicle battery components. It is the latest in a long line of green energy companies which have announced factories in the state.

Green New Energy says its factory will employ 545 people, with an average salary of $57,934, which is higher than Lincoln County’s average wage $51,886, the state said in a release.

The company produces a battery separator product for the lithium-ion battery industry in North America, with customers including Tesla, Ford, LG and Samsung, the release said. The products are used in electric vehicles, energy storage and electric tools.

"North Carolina’s momentum in clean energy economy grows stronger every day, bringing great manufacturing jobs that will put money in the pockets of families in Lincoln County and all across the state,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. “This investment is yet another example of the economic prosperity that clean energy can bring to our communities.”

The big part of the taxpayer subsidies is a $4.8 million Job Development Investment Grant distributed over 12 years. The factory will add $1.15 billion to the state’s economy during that time, a return on public dollars of 105%, the state said.

In addition, Lincoln County will provide incentives of about $4.4 million, the state said.

Last month, a Vietnamese solar energy company announced plans for a $294 million plant in Pitt County creating more than 900 new jobs.

North Carolina topped the nation in clean energy private-sector investments since passage of the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, according to a recent report by E2, by a national nonpartisan, nonprofit group.

Since 2022 when the bill passed Congress, $10.1 billion in clean energy projects have been announced in North Carolina in electric vehicle manufacturing, electricity transmission and distribution and battery storage, the group said.