ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that Rivian is set to receive a nearly $6.6 billion loan to construct its Project Horizon manufacturing facility in Georgia.
The proposed loan would be a combined $5.975 billion of principal and $592 million in capital interest, according to a news release.
If approved, the loan will allow Rivian to finance the development and construction of the 2,000-acre plant near Social Circle, Ga. that would manufacture up to 400,000 vehicles.
“This loan will help create thousands of new American jobs and further strengthen U.S. leadership in EV manufacturing and technology,” Rivian Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement.
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In Nov. 2023, Georgia officials offered Rivian a $1.5 billion tax incentives package to build the mega-site that would cover parts of Morgan and Walton counties. The development had been in the works since 2021.
However in March of this year, Rivian paused the plans to build the $5 billion facility.
“Our Georgia plant remains an extremely important part of our strategy to scale production of R2 and R3, but the timing for its launch is expected to be later to focus our teams on the capital efficient launch of R2 in Normal, IL,” a spokesperson for Rivian said at the time.
In late April, Rivian executives said they remained committed to building the plant.
Some who live and work near the plant site in Walton and Morgan counties say they are not thrilled that Rivian will resume construction of the plant.
“It’s pretty devastating. Most of the folks moved out here to get away from everything, so between the traffic and the development and the noise and all that, here we go again,” said Renee Ussary.
Ussary co-owns an animal rescue sanctuary near the plant site. She said when crews graded the site earlier this year, silt runoff clouded her ground wells and clogged water filters.
“There’s cows down the street. It’s a rural agricultural area. It’s not meant for a mega developement.” said Ussary.
Rivian says it plans to begin production at the Georgia plant of it’s R-2 and R-3 vehicles in 2028, with an first yearly production run of 200,000 vehicles.
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Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said the loan announced on Tuesday is intended to officially restart the stalled construction of the plant.
“Our Federal manufacturing incentives are driving economic development across the State of Georgia. I join all Federal, State, and local leaders in congratulating Rivian on this conditional Federal loan agreement and in celebrating yet another historic Federal investment in Georgia electric vehicle manufacturing,” Ossoff said in a statement. “I thank President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Granholm, and Loan Programs Office Director Shah for their continued collaboration as we lead Georgia forward.”
Garrison Douglas, a spokesman for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, said the state will continue to work with Rivian as it has for the past three years.
“Our conversations to bring their operations to the No. 1 state for business predates the current administration in Washington, and our shared vision to bring opportunity to Georgia will remain no matter who resides in the White House or what party controls Congress,” Douglas said in a statement.
The Rivian plant would “support up to 2,000 full-time jobs through construction and 7,500 operations jobs by 2030,” according to Dept. of Energy officials.
They also said Rivian would work with local technical college system units in Georgia to create training programs meant to attract, train and retain the workforce needed to operate the facility.
The loan itself is a conditional commitment, according to federal officials. In order to be approved, Rivian will have to meet certain technical, legal, environmental and financial conditions before the funds are delivered for financing.
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