SHOVEL-READY SITES

What good is a prepared and certified industrial site if electrical power can’t get to it? An updated report from Americans for a Clean Energy Grid profiles selected transmission projects for renewables making headway across the country.

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Alexis Elmore delivers updates on projects from Meld Energy in the UK; Toyota in Texas; and Micron in Japan.

Toyota says it’s hiring now for production positions in San Antonio that start at $21.25 per hour.

Photo courtesy of Toyota

Toyota’s growth plans in San Antonio build on a lengthy record of investment there ever since the company announced the location in February 2003, when the late Jack Lyne reported on how the deal went down. The original investment was $800 million. Toyota said last week its total investment in the San Antonio plant has grown to more than $4.7 billion.

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Originally filed in Colleton County court, the case has been moved to federal district court.

Photo: Getty Images

As reported by Bisnow’s Jarred Schenke and a number of other outlets last week, Turkey-based Kontrolmatik Technologies is suing JLL to avoid paying $5 million related to incentives for a $300 million lithium-ion battery plant in Colleton County announced in 2022 from its subsidiary Pomega Energy Storage Technologies. The percentage was stipulated in a memorandum of understanding that called for payment of 10% of awarded incentives or $5 million, whichever was less. But the Turkish company’s suit says that MOU is not binding and JLL is only deserving of $750,000 in fees. JLL has declined to comment. According to published reports, Kontrolmatik says most of its incentives were statutory and not negotiated by JLL.

Ground was broken for the project at the Colleton Industrial Campus in Walterboro in February 2023, when completion was projected for mid-2024. In addition to referencing the roles of JLL and of state officials, language in the groundbreaking announcement explained the attractiveness of federal as well as state incentives: “The JLL team analyzed more than 200 sites to identify locations that could be suitable for the plant,” said the company. “Pomega is proud of the strong relationships it has already established with South Carolina state officials, who have offered a generous package of various employment-related tax credits and exemptions. As for the expected production tax credits (PTC) expected to be collected as per IRA [Inflation Reduction Act], the calculation is based on an annual PTC of $35/KWh for battery cells and $45/KWh for modules. Taking into account the company’s projected product mix for a total of 3 GWh of PTC for 2024-2029, phasing out at 25% per year between 2030-2032, the total estimated amount is $916 million.”

A report on Friday from Walterboro Live stated the project, located on I-95 just south of the I-26 interchange northwest of Charleston, is on course for completion by the end of the third quarter.

Photo courtesy of TOKYO Night and Light

Publicity for TOKYO Night and Light shared this image last week from its ongoing shows at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Main Building No. 1, recognized by the Guinness World Records™ as the “Largest architectural projection-mapped display (permanent)” for its projects covering precisely 13,904.956 sq. meters (149,677 sq. ft.). This image is from “Ukiyo.” “Ukiyo-e paintings are works of art developed during the Edo period (1603-1868) and which depict various aspects of daily life with vivid and delicate colors,” the producers explain in a release. “The term ‘ukiyo’ itself refers to a world that is constantly changing. Using visuals generated by AI learning and CG by the creators of the show facilitated a connection between the world of Ukiyo-e paintings and contemporary pop culture.” An entirely different feeling is conjured by “Godzilla: Attack on Tokyo” featuring a 100-m.-tall Godzilla, who, the company reminds us, “is celebrating his 70th birthday this year!”