Nissan to receive $1.6 billion loan to modify Smyrna plant on The Murfreesboro Post

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Nissan to receive $1.6 billion loan to modify Smyrna plant

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By: TMP Staff Reports

Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 10:47 am

Nissan North America Inc. announced today that it has been conditionally approved by the U.S. Department of Energy for a $1.6 billion loan to modify its Smyrna manufacturing plant to produce zero-emissions vehicles and state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery packs to power them.

Ford and newcomer Tesla were also expected to receive funds from the U.S. Energy Department for development of fuel-efficient vehicles.

Nissan announced earlier this week that it expects to become the first company to offer all-electric vehicles.

"This is a great opportunity that the Department of Energy has given Nissan," said Holly Weber, vice president of economic development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. "Nissan continues to be at the forefront of the automotive industry. As consumer demands change, Nissan consistently answers those demands with new, innovative products. "We have seen this transition from conventional auto to SUV and now with their desire to produce electric cars," she continued. This is a great testimony of Nissan’s continued commitment to their consumers and also to Smyrna and the state of Tennessee.“

Rutherford County Major Ernest Burgess said the Nissan announcement is "great news for our whole county and our whole region." The retooling and the new production will bring new high-tech jobs to the county, he said.

Burgess said employment could be increased substantially at the Smyrna plant.

More than 1,300 new employees could be hired when the plant is in full production, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Smyrna plant currently employs about 3,900. Construction at Smyrna is scheduled to begin by the end of this year, after an environmental assessment is completed.

Production is planned to start in late 2012. Nissan is committed to being a leader in zero-emissions mobility.

It will offer electric vehicles in the United States and Japan beginning in 2010.

The first vehicles for the U.S. market will be built in Japan before production is shifted to Smyrna.

“Nissan is confident that the Smyrna employees have the skill and dedication to take on this critical role in Nissan’s future by creating a new form of transportation in the United States,” said Susan Brennan, vice president, in charge of manufacturing at Smyrna. “This opens a new chapter in Nissan’s 26-year manufacturing history in America.”

The modifications of the Smyrna manufacturing plant include a new battery plant and changes in the existing structure for electric-vehicle assembly.

When fully operational, the vehicle assembly plant will have the capacity to build 150,000 zero-emissions vehicles a year and the new plant will have an annual capacity of 200,000 batteries.

Nissan’s electric vehicle will comfortably seat five people, drive on any American road or highway and have an initial range of 100 miles before recharging.

U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and U.S. Representative Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.6th) said today that Nissan’s award of a $1.6 billion Department of Energy loan is outstanding news both for the local economy and for Tennessee’s position as a leader in America’s automotive and energy future.

“This announcement puts Nissan and Tennessee at the center of building electric cars in America,” Alexander said. “We can electrify half our cars and trucks if we plug them in at night, without building one new power plant because of all the unused nighttime electricity we have. This is the single best way to reduce dependence on foreign oil, clean the air, and keep the cost of fuel low.”

Corker, a member of the Senate Energy Committee, said the announcement is "the nexus of what we’ve tried to create in Tennessee: good paying jobs that move our state and country ahead and help us become more energy secure. This means 1,300 jobs for the area, it secures Tennessee’s position as a leader in America’s energy future, and it continues to tell the world that Tennessee is THE place to do business, especially automotive business.

Gordon agreed that the loan is "great news for Tennessee. After 26 years of producing cars in Smyrna, this loan will allow Nissan to refurbish and retool an existing factory and construct a new battery plant to build affordable all-electric vehicles. “It will create 1,300 new jobs and position Tennessee to be a leader in establishing our nation's energy independence - the Smyrna-produced cars will use no gasoline," Gordon continued.

"This loan will also provide new opportunities for Nissan and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to collaborate and ensure that our country is on the leading edge of global technological competitiveness.”

The loan, announced by the U.S. Department of Energy, is among the first three loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVMLP), a $25-billion program authorized by Congress under Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The loan will help Nissan produce electric vehicles, which emit no gases and are powered only by electricity.

“This loan is an investment in America,” said Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, Administration and Finance for NNA. “It will help us put high-quality, affordable, zero-emissions vehicles on our roads. “This project will expand our Smyrna plant and that’s great economic news” he added.

The ATVMLP is designed to accelerate the development of vehicles and technologies that increase U.S. energy independence, create cleaner means of transportation and stimulate the American economy. Companies receiving the loans go through a rigorous financial and technical qualification process and must put collateral in place before approval.

For the past year, Nissan has been involved in establishing partnerships with governments, municipalities, utility companies, and public and private organizations aimed at creating conditions that will support the market for zero-emissions vehicles.

In the United States, Nissan is working with the State of Tennessee, the State of Oregon, Sonoma County and San Diego in California, Phoenix, Tucson, Seattle, Raleigh, and Washington, D.C. Globally, Nissan, with its Alliance partner Renault has begun ZEV initiatives in Kanagawa Prefecture and Yokohama in Japan, as well as in Israel, Denmark, Portugal, Monaco, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Ireland, China and Hong Kong.

In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive design, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing.

Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infinitiUSA.com.

Tagged under Energy, Nissan

Member Opinions:

By: whizkid on 6/23/09
This is a windfall for our community! Now, let's hope that Spring Hill will still make Saturns or GM vehicles. It is one of GM's most versatile plants!

By: RonB on 6/24/09
Where will all this "zero-emission" electricity come from? Sounds too much like a free lunch deal to me. I'm sure TVA will be able to spend a few more billion dollars to start up some nuclear plants.

By: LauraB on 6/24/09
Check out the review from Popular Mechanics ... they got to test drive one yesterday in Japan.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4276765.html

The technology they are working on is to have a goal of recharge in 30-60 minutes on a 220v outlet (like your dryer) and they are shooting for a 150 mile range (but will more than likely hit the 100 mile range). I for one am very excited that this kind of project, with real application (Nissan has been working on their lithium ion battery technology for years) is coming to Smyrna.

I only wish it was coming to retail in 2010 ... don't know if I can wait until 2012!

By: thinkingman on 6/24/09
Ron,

Electricity does have a carbon footprint, but it is a small fraction of what even modern internal combustion engines belch out. As more electricity is produced by solar, hydro, wind and nuclear, use of electricity will become even cleaner.

ps: If you think about it, we all use plenty of electricity every day anyway. The big improvement comes when we take our cars off the road while only upping the electric demand slightly. It's a good trade off.

By: Momma on 6/24/09
I wish we could hear more about American owned companies. Tell us about FORD.

By: Dave42 on 6/24/09
People keep ragging about "carbon footprints", "Global Warming", "Climate Change", but how many people realize that it isn't Carbon Dioxide, but Carbon Monoxide that is emitted from the exhaust of an automobile, and that is CO2 is about 1 part per million of the greenhouse gasses. Your largest greenhouse gas is water vapor which is all around us all the time. What do you think causes rain? Another thing, plants absorb CO2 and release the Oxygen back onto the atmosphere. That is something we were taught back in grammer school.

There is one thing that I'm really wondering about. Whatcha gonna do when you are going across the Mohave in your little electric car and you run out of juice? When I traveled from Murfreesboro to Richmond Ca, how many times would I have had to stop to juice up my battery? These little tin cans will, over time, not be cost efficient, and those batteries have a hefty cost too. $3,000/$5,000 per battery. Add that to the price of what you have to pay for those things, along with the reduced safety. They are fine if you just want to buzz around town, but what an expensive way to buzz. I know I sure cannot afford it. My 1992 Crown Victoria averages about 25 miles to the gallon, and I can go a heck of a lot farther on one fillup than one of those can go on one chargeup, and if they pass that cap and trade tax that Albert Gore Jr wants you're gonna see taxes on energy go through the roof.

By: canalou on 6/26/09
These jobs are a God-send in this era of GOP-induced recession. I don't know about future efficiency of these type cars, but I thank God for the jobs presently and in the future at Nissan....