The decision by electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian to temporarily pause construction of its planned facility in Morgan and Walton Counties prompted consternation and tough questions from a subcommittee of Georgia senators at a hearing on Monday.
The announcement from Rivian came in conjunction with news that the EV company is introducing a new line of vehicles, but those trucks are set to be produced at a facility in Illinois. The company says that producing the vehicles at their Illinois plant will save some $2.25 billion dollars, but that the planned Georgia plant is still part of their strategy to increase production of the new vehicles.
Still, the announcement seemed to catch state officials off guard. Pat Wilson, Director of the state’s Department of Economic Development told senators that he learned of the pause on the Georgia plant’s development just a few days before the news became public.
That was clearly frustrating for Senator Randy Robertson, a Republican from Harris County in west Georgia.
"I find it completely irresponsible of Rivian that the Director of Economic Development, the person that that holds the lead for that, finds out about it two and a half days before they decide to do it," Robertson said. "In my world, that is absolutely irresponsible and inexcusable, and I don't like to play hypotheticals with anything, but if they come back to Georgia and start making good on their promises, I'll be the guy that says I'm surprised.
"...if they come back to Georgia and start making good on their promises, I'll be the guy that says I'm surprised."Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula)
Senators were concerned about whether the pause may turn into a total pullout, and discussed at length how much state money has already been spent on the project. The Department of Economic Development’s Pat Wilson.
"In land acquisition, it's $68 million, in grading and preparing the 577 acres that we have turned into a pad, that's another $55 million, wetland mitigation, roughly $15 million," said Wilson. "So we're in for about $141 million on the site itself."
In addition to that spending, the state Department of Transportation has spent around $158 million in road improvements.
But, Wilson assured lawmakers that Rivian was still under contract, and they were still complying with the terms of that agreement, including spending $1.5 million yearly in payments in lieu of taxes.
"This company has said that they will live up to all of their their promises and their commitments that they are contractually obligated to do," he said. "They have not said that they're going to not meet their goal. And so, and until we hear otherwise, this is a an active project with an active, potentially an active construction. So we're waiting on their green light to to reactivate."
Under the terms of the contract, Rivian has until 2030 to hire some 7,500 workers and invest $5 billion into the state.
