FILE: Maureen Carpenter, president and CEO of the Barren County Economic Authority, speaks to an audience gathered outside U.S. Bank along South Green Street in Glasgow.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
BY BRENNAN D. CRAIN, WCLU News
GLASGOW — The scope of a project to locate a Chinese-owned battery factory in Barren County has shifted since it was announced nearly two years ago.
Contemporary Amperex Technology LLC purchased the former RR Donnelley – and later LSC Communications – building along Donnelley Drive in December 2020. The company is a major battery supplier for vehicle brands like Tesla and BMW.
Though the pandemic stalled many projects, economic development appears to be well underway across the region as companies look to expand their operations. But Glasgow apparently remains on a development waitlist.
“We can’t really talk about what they’re [CATL] looking at,” said President and CEO of the Barren County Economic Authority Maureen Carpenter. “But they are coming.”
The pandemic stalled many development projects – particularly the CATL expansion.
Company executives were apparently unable to travel to Glasgow for necessary meetings for several months as lockdowns persisted in China. Those restrictions have since broadened to recent tensions with the Chinese government.
“Federal relations with the Chinese government are not helping to move things forward on that project,” Carpenter said.
WCLU News inquired about CATL’s intentions in the area. Carpenter could not detail specific information about them, however.
Electric vehicle business and market demands have changed – so much that the company’s original intentions in southcentral Kentucky are no longer existent, she said. The changes are forcing the company to pivot and reassess its business efforts here.
“People want timelines. People want to know ‘when is it going to happen?’” Carpenter said. “And I can’t give them that. And neither can the company.”
Carpenter said the company maintains plans of investing quality jobs in Barren County. Details about the jobs were not provided.
WCLU News discussed other economic interests with Carpenter and ongoing infrastructure developments. Details from those conversations will be included in a later report.