Inslee calls this new Whatcom business ‘a moral victory’ in climate change fight
A new electric bus plant in Ferndale shows how the green economy can spur growth in Whatcom County and Washington state, elected officials said at a groundbreaking ceremony Friday, July 9.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Vicinity Motor Corp.’s electric buses will provide living-wage jobs and help fight climate change.
“I believe the sky’s the limit when it comes to electrifying our transportation system,” Inslee said at the factory site on LaBounty Drive north of Smith Road. “If we’re going to defeat climate change we’re going to have to go away from fossilized transportation.”
Company officials said the building’s skeleton will be built by December, and the factory will be in production in 2022.
Vicinity CEO William Trainer said that the plant will create hundreds of jobs over time for Whatcom County residents and he promised continued investment in the community.
Faber Construction, Lynden Sheet Metal and other local firms have been hired to build the plant.
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu said the Regional Economic Partnership that includes Bellingham, the Port of Bellingham and Whatcom County are preparing “shovel-ready projects” to take advantage of business opportunities as the global economy transitions to 21st-century industries.
“We are fully committed to bringing more clean-tech industries to this region,” Sidhu said.
Inslee called the new factory “a moral victory” against climate change.
“The last week, we saw dozens of Washingtonians lose their lives because of the heat that we experienced. We’re losing our salmon in our rivers. Our glaciers are melting. We know that our state is in an existential threat because of climate change. We are saving ourselves from this beast and we are putting people to work and making money at the same time,” Inslee said.
