Panasonic Battery Plant

[Anonymous.]

https://www.hffinancial.com/advanced...uction-credit/

That article straight up says they selected OK for the next plant.

I really would like to see it somewhere W of OKC, but you guys are probably right that it is basically going to take advantage of the initial plant proposal near Tulsa.

[PhiAlpha]

Because his Modus Operandi is to push things to Tulsa at the state's detriment. Pushing Tulsa vs. Austin was like putting Alabama vs Long Beach State in football. Put OKC against Austin, there is at least a punchers chance.

LOL. No. The site was selected due to its proximity to the port, rail lines, and other ground transportation as we as cheap hydroelectric power. NEOK is more competitive with Austin then OKC would be based on that. Some of you guys are a little clueless as to what anything outside of OKC in the state has to offer.

[PhiAlpha]

Thank you, Chssooner:

OKC would have been a much better opponent vs Austin, who didn't want the plant in their back yard because it hurt
their Silicon Valley image.

Is this the same Governor Sttit who said he was going to make Oklahoma a TOP TEN STATE in numerous categories . . .

Love the enthusiasm, but it’s misguided. OKC is not a a better location for this plant.

[chssooner]

LOL. No. The site was selected due to its proximity to the port, rail lines, and other ground transportation as we as cheap hydroelectric power. NEOK is more competitive with Austin then OKC would be based on that. Some of you guys are a little clueless as to what anything outside of OKC in the state has to offer.

No, it's just because you never hear Stitt praising and recruiting companies to OKC, yet he waxes poetic about Tulsa and the surrounding area. Nowhere close to even. OKC accomplishes a lot of their job creation in spite of the state, not with their help.

I want Tulsa to succeed. But not at the expense of OKC. Both can thrive, but you wouldn't know that given how much Stitt hypes Tulsa.

[Jake]

No, it's just because you never hear Stitt praising and recruiting companies to OKC, yet he waxes poetic about Tulsa and the surrounding area. Nowhere close to even. OKC accomplishes a lot of their job creation in spite of the state, not with their help.

I want Tulsa to succeed. But not at the expense of OKC. Both can thrive, but you wouldn't know that given how much Stitt hypes Tulsa.

Other than the Telsa and Panasonic things, how has Stitt "hyped up" Tulsa in the past? Genuine question.

[chssooner]

Other than the Telsa and Panasonic things, how has Stitt "hyped up" Tulsa in the past? Genuine question.

That's more than any governor I can ever remember getting involved in a public sense in major recruitments like that.

[Plutonic Panda]

IMO, just let Tulsa have their moment. Stitt is a huge proponent of the Access Oklahoma Turnpike Expansion which will greatly increase infrastructure investment in and around OKC much more than Tulsa. The other candidate for governor doesn’t support it. Let Tulsa get theirs because they need it there isn’t much happening up there other than a few small projects. OKC has much more momentum going. Tulsa needs a boost.

[shavethewhales]

OKC has enjoyed many new developments and new business and will continue to do so with or without the governor's help. I think some of the frustration here comes from the fact that the efforts to lure a big company to NE OK are more flashy and publicized than other things happening around the state and in OKC. This particular location is unusually well suited to particular types of large manufacturing facilities, and we need to shoot for the best that we can get instead of letting surrounding states get all the major business. I think any effort to lure a major employer to OK should be lauded, and I expect any governor to show their support.

OKC doesn't really need to moonshot anything, but if the opportunity comes up for something I'm sure Stitt would make his usual show of support that any governor is basically required to do. There are several big companies HQ'd in OKC already and they are rapidly expanding, not to mention the smaller organic growth all around. OKC is among the fastest growing cities in the country. Tulsa is trying to hang on to relevancy and get a shot in the arm because everyone around us is growing faster than we are.


Getting back to the topic at hand, several outlets are indeed making it sound like Panasonic is going to give us something. Stitt isn't rushing to say we are getting it, but he is keeping hope alive. Sounds like we'll end up forking over a huge sum of money for a smaller facility, but we need something in any case. https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-an...ce=mp-homepage

[BG918]

Getting a battery factory at MAIP, whether it be Panasonic or another company, is a key component to building an EV manufacturing cluster and mobility hub. This is a state initiative with NW Arkansas along Hwy 412: https://www.compositesworld.com/news...y-national-hub It focuses the manufacturing at MAIP and R&D in Tulsa (partnering with OSU) and Fayetteville (partnering with UA).

No one knows what will ultimately happen with Canoo but a battery plant and any supply chain facilities that surround it makes the site more attractive to future companies.

[Swake]

NW Arkansas is one of the fast growing metros in the US and is the same distance from Tulsa as Oklahoma City. The plan for the Tulsa-NW Arkansas corridor being a tech hub focused on EVs is part of the reason US-412 is being upgraded to an Interstate as I-50 or whatever.

[ChrisHayes]

IMO, just let Tulsa have their moment. Stitt is a huge proponent of the Access Oklahoma Turnpike Expansion which will greatly increase infrastructure investment in and around OKC much more than Tulsa. The other candidate for governor doesn’t support it. Let Tulsa get theirs because they need it there isn’t much happening up there other than a few small projects. OKC has much more momentum going. Tulsa needs a boost.

Exactly. I've seen countless comments over the years about how there needs to be growth all over the state and not just OKC. Then, whenever there's the potential for a game changer in the state's second largest metro, people freak out and want it on OKC. I get it to a degree, but I would much rather see big industrial undertakings like this all over the state. I'm talking Tulsa, Ardmore, Lawton, Woodward, and Enid. Get the entire state booming and not just OKC.

[Bunty]

Exactly. I've seen countless comments over the years about how there needs to be growth all over the state and not just OKC. Then, whenever there's the potential for a game changer in the state's second largest metro, people freak out and want it on OKC. I get it to a degree, but I would much rather see big industrial undertakings like this all over the state. I'm talking Tulsa, Ardmore, Lawton, Woodward, and Enid. Get the entire state booming and not just OKC.

Stillwater, too, since unlike Ardmore, Woodward and Enid, it has daily passenger airline access to DFW. The Armstrong flooring plant that recently shut down could use a new tenant.

[Paule4ou]

Also, I doubt Kansas would offer a ton more incentive to build a 8 billion dollar plant as opposed to the 4 billion one. At least not much more than Oklahoma would offer.

So they might as well build a plant in Kansas to collect the benefits, and then build another in Oklahoma to also collect the benefits we offered them.

I’ve got some contacts in Topeka and they tell me that Kansas is throwing the book at them to get the second facility there as well….and most likely are the front runner.

[Jake]

I’ve got some contacts in Topeka and they tell me that Kansas is throwing the book at them to get the second facility there as well….and most likely are the front runner.

Wouldn't surprise me to see Oklahoma completely blow it and lose out. Again.

[chssooner]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Oklahoma completely blow it and lose out. Again.

Yeah, I don't think Kansas is getting another one. They wouldn't have basically put out that OK was a prohibitive favorite without Panasonic allowing it, and likely something being signed.

[chssooner]

I’ve got some contacts in Topeka and they tell me that Kansas is throwing the book at them to get the second facility there as well….and most likely are the front runner.

So about 50 different articles or press releases are lying? Got it.

[baralheia]

So about 50 different articles or press releases are lying? Got it.

I don't read it as lying, just that until contracts are signed, nothing is set in stone. Panasonic may have let slip to a reporter that they were looking at Oklahoma - probably because of our prior proposal - but that could change depending on the situation. All the reporting I am finding at first glance is crediting the Wall Street Journal for breaking the story, and in WSJ's article it says this (emphasis mine):

TOKYO—Panasonic Holdings Corp., PCRFY 1.63%▲ a supplier to electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc., TSLA -0.75%▼ is in discussions to build an additional roughly $4 billion EV battery plant in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.

The Japanese company is looking at Oklahoma as the location for its new plant, though there are no guarantees that an agreement will be reached, the people said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-s...-s-11661495847

[chssooner]

I don't read it as lying, just that until contracts are signed, nothing is set in stone. Panasonic may have let slip to a reporter that they were looking at Oklahoma - probably because of our prior proposal - but that could change depending on the situation. All the reporting I am finding at first glance is crediting the Wall Street Journal for breaking the story, and in WSJ's article it says this (emphasis mine):



https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-s...-s-11661495847

The article in post 350 makes it seem like there is far more than hearsay.

[Bunty]

Wouldn't surprise me to see Oklahoma completely blow it and lose out. Again.

As brought up before the lack of a big enough work force for Panasonic was cited as one reason why Oklahoma was turned down as told at an interim study at the state capitol. So, it's also important to entice new companies with a large well-qualified workforce. I think it surely reflects Oklahoma's lack of desire to do a better job of supporting education with no sign of things getting better, especially if out of state employers don't think promoting private education is the right direction to go. Another problem causing worker shortages is that Texas companies are enticing Oklahomans with higher pay to come. The article concludes with State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, said he’s looking at developing an incentive program to bring workers from other states to Oklahoma. The program could offer new graduates who work in biotechnical or engineering fields four years of income tax-free earnings.

https://www.stwnewspress.com/oklahom...e1262c5f8.html

[Jersey Boss]

The leading candidate for School Super is campaigning on refusing federal edication dollars for education as well as advocating for the loss of career of any teacher that strays from conservative orthadoxy.
Strong selling points for tech companies.

[Bunty]

No, Oklahoma schools don't need defunded to any extent, unless we don't want to attract industry, especially in high tech. Top education official mulls rejecting federal funds as districts worry about lost revenue: https://www.stwnewspress.com/oklahom...db77fb280.html

[Plutonic Panda]

Article from Teslarati(not exactly a source I’d taken with anything more than a grain of salt from) about the groundbreaking of the factory in De Soto. They mentioned the potential Oklahoma sites but never mentioned the possibility of a second site.

https://www.teslarati.com/panasonic-...-kansas-plant/

[BG918]

Canoo plans to build a 3200 mwh battery plant at MAIP. Panasonic is much larger at at 30,000 mwh. It will be interesting to see if they end up building a second plant.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...ma-2022-11-02/

[FighttheGoodFight]

Saw a walmart branded Canoo driving around the metro last week. Testing Testing

[Jake]

Supposedly the state is trying to lure another large manufacturer with what they tried to land Panasonic with. Anyone have any ideas who it could be? Hope they don’t completely fumble this again:

https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-an...743fc2649.html