Two years ago a company called EnerBlu, which would manufacture batteries, announced it was locating in Pikeville. Among the promises it made were 875 jobs and $372 million in economic investments. Those promises increased over the years, with CEO Daniel Elliott forecasting the possibility of 1500 jobs.
Today, those promises fell apart as the company announced it is suspending (read: killing) it’s plans for Pikeville.
It is a blow to a part of our state that really couldn’t handle it. Unemployment is highest in far Eastern Kentucky, and these jobs would have been highly sought.
What it has some people in Frankfort wondering though was how long this has been known and if the announcement coming shortly after the candidate filing deadline was a coincidence. Governor Bevin, for all his political faults, has always been able to rely on economic growth and several major projects, including EnerBlu, as highlights of his term. If this announcement had come a couple of weeks earlier, would he have been more likely to get a stronger opponent in the Republican primary?
Rumor also has it that there might be a similar announcement from Braidy Industries in the near future. What will the fallout be if these two signature projects fail to ever materialize?
Inside The Connector 