Friday, Aug. 14,
2009
Lt. Governor Visits GM
Advanced Battery Plant Site in Brownstown Township
Lt. Governor Cherry joined General Motors President and
CEO Fritz Henderson and other GM, state and local leaders in Brownstown Township on Thursday to celebrate GM’s selection of a
Michigan location for the nation’s first
high-volume U.S. automotive lithium-ion battery
manufacturing facility. The company will invest $43 million to produce
lithium-ion battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt and other extended-range
electric vehicles.
The GM event followed last week’s announcement by Vice
President Joe Biden that 12 Michigan projects, including three by GM, were
awarded more than $1.35 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy to
support advanced-battery and electric-vehicle manufacturing and development.
Talking
points:
- GM’s Brownstown Township facility will create about 100
jobs. Jobs to be created by the 12 Michigan projects awarded DOE grants are
estimated at 6,800 in the next 18 months and up to 40,000 by 2020.
- Battery plants
also will be built in Holland, Livonia and Midland by
Michigan
companies receiving DOE grants.
- DOE grants also
were awarded for Advanced Electric Drive Vehicle Education Programs at four
Michigan
universities. Those include GM partnerships with Michigan Tech and the
University of Michigan as well as programs at Wayne State
University and Kettering University.
- The Granholm
administration is working to establish an entire advanced battery industry in
the state, with manufacturers, suppliers and the whole value chain located
here, creating new economic activity and new jobs.
Select Michigan Farmers Markets Coming Up Aug. 20 in Detroit, Sept. 17 in Lansing
People who want the healthiest, freshest, best-tasting
fruits and vegetables should buy ones grown right here in Michigan, said Don
Koivisto, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Koivisto
made his remarks in delivering this week’s radio address on behalf of the
governor.
Koivisto said locally-grown food is healthier than food
shipped long distances because many fruits and vegetables can lose up to half of
their nutrients in just five days. He also noted the important role
Michigan
agriculture plays in the state economy.
Talking
points:
- Select Michigan is a brand
identification program to promote Michigan-grown food. The Select
Michigan logo can be found on Michigan food products sold at grocery
stores, farmers markets and on individual farms.
- To help introduce
the public to Michigan food products, Select
Michigan farmers markets will be held Thursday, Aug. 20 at Detroit’s Eastern Market
and Sept. 17 in front of the State Capitol.
- If you can’t
attend either of the Select Michigan farmers markets, you can locate a local
farmers market by visiting farmersmarketonline.com and following the “Open Air
Markets” link.
- To learn more
about Michigan food products and where to buy
them, visit SelectMichigan.org.
- Michigan’s
agri-food sector employs one million people and contributes $71.3 billion
annually to the state economy. Every year, Michigan exports more
than $2 billion in agricultural commodities to other states and another
billion dollars worth to countries all over the world.
- If every
Michigan
household spent just $10 a week of its current grocery budget on locally-grown
and produced foods, the result would be almost $2 billion circulating within
our state economy every year.