ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Clean energy jobs in Indiana increased almost 18% between 1998-2007, ranking Indiana 1st in the industrial Midwest for overall clean energy industry job growth.
Deploying an electric vehicle community isn't just the "green" thing to do - it also supports the economic development of the region. Since the project's inception, ESN and its Project Plug-IN partners have focused on contributing to the state and national economy through its deliberate use of US-made technology and resources for electric vehicles. The project's public-private partnerships not only created the opportunities to do so, but allowed it to take on the challenges quickly by leveraging both public funding and private investments to accelerate penetration of plug-in electric vehicles in the marketplace. Furthermore, as Indiana becomes more recognized globally as an EV-friendly environment, manufacturers, suppliers, OEMs and others will find more reasons to move their businesses, operations and production to the state. In 2009, Indiana companies received over $416 million in federal grants for battery and electric drive projects. Project Plug-IN aims to continue demonstrating the state's strong assets in manufacturing, advanced power systems engineering, R&D capabilities and more to attract businesses to the state and showcase Indiana as a 'hub' for energy innovation.
On December 16th, 2010, Project Plug-IN and its partners achieved a significant goal: delivering the first US-made plug-in electric vehicles with a US-made Lithium-ion battery to a customer of any kind. The recipient of the first PEVs delivered in the US was Indiana's Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The DNR received 15 THINK "City" PEVs with US-made Ener1 batteries to be utilized in the state government's fleet operations. The vehicles' final assembly was in the THINK Automotive North American manufacturing facility in Elkhart, Indiana.
Workforce Development
Project Plug-IN is doing more than just impacting electric vehicle commercialization. It's also preparing for the future workforce needed to support electric vehicles in the marketplace. ESN is partnering with Ivy Tech Community College and Purdue University in the Crossroads Smart Grid Training Project, which aims to minimize the gap between education and workforce in the electric sector within Indiana and beyond by bringing together education and industry to develop and deploy a collection of industry relevant educational modules, courses, and certificates for topics including PEVs and charging infrastructure. By proactively preparing the workforce for the changes in technology related to PEVs, consumers can experience less frustration with their future servicing needs.
