The chair of the board at Invest Windsor Essex insists a deal with LG Chem to locate a $2.5-billion plant in Windsor is not dead yet.
Tom Bain said he remains optimistic energy supply issues can be resolved.
An anticipated meeting last week involving local business leaders and officials with the Korean company was cancelled. Bain called it disappointing but said, while the energy challenge is significant, it's not insurmountable.
"We need to work on the problem...work on getting the energy down here," said Bain.
According to reports, Invest Windsor Essex CEO Stephen MacKenzie suggested the deal had nowhere to go after the Ontario Ministery of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade couldn't guarantee the company it would have 15 megawatts of power available by 2024.
Wednesday morning, Invest Windsor Essex Director of Marketing and Communications Gina Meret-Dybenko responded to an emailed request for an interview with MacKenzie by writing, "we will not be participating in any further interviews regarding this story at this time."
LG Chem, which makes cathodes and other materials for electric vehicle batteries, has located some of its plants near battery plants for efficiency. Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions announced plans to build a $5-billion battery plant in Windsor in March.
Just weeks later, the Ontario government issued an order in council to expedite three Hydro One transmission lines in the region. A 2330-kilovolt line from Chatham to Lakeshore was one of three projects declared a priority. Another two projects, a 500-kilovolt line between Longwood to Lakeshore and a 230-kilovolt line from Windsor to Lakeshore, were confirmed.
Bain insisted it is not unusual for problems to come up while officials negotiate an investment agreement.
"There's not one problem when you're bringing in new investment. There's four or five problems or more problems...and you work with that company, and you try to resolve those problems," he said.
WindsorNewsToday.ca reached out via email to officials at LG Chem in Seoul but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
