Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
LEBANON, TN - Today, President Biden announced that Tritium, an Australia-based electric vehicle charger manufacturer, will open its first U.S. facility in Lebanon, Tennessee. This facility will produce up to 30,000 DC Fast Chargers each year and create 500 local jobs.
The Biden administration published a fact sheet that listed a series of announcements from manufacturers all planning to expand their U.S. operations for producing EV charging equipment. The effort aims to ensure that the transition to electric vehicles creates good-paying jobs, invests in workforce development, and benefits communities in the United States.
This follows announcements from Ford to produce electric vehicle batteries and General Motors and Volkswagen to add electric vehicle production to their plants in Tennessee. It also supports state and utility-led Drive Electric Tennessee’s goal of 200,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2028.
Kent Minault, Chair of the Transportation Committee of Sierra Club’s Tennessee Chapter, released the following statement:
“The Sierra Club urges Tritium to ensure these are high quality, family-sustaining careers that uplift local workers. We need strong labor standards so that workers in Tennessee benefit from the shift to electric vehicles. The Tennessee Valley Authority and local power companies must ensure that clean energy powers the manufacturing facility and the electric vehicles that will be charged here in the state.”
Derrick Figures, Director of the Sierra Club’s Labor and Economic Justice Program, released the following statement:
“The new clean transportation manufacturing jobs in Tennessee and across the country are essential for reducing pollution and rebuilding the middle class. The U.S. has a critical opportunity to be a leader in the transition to electric vehicles by investing and expanding domestic manufacturing capacities. It’s essential we do this in a way that dismantles the barriers to economic prosperity and social justice so many underserved populations and communities of color in this region experience.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.