Panasonic battery plant is great news for Kansas. Now even more hard work lies ahead

Panasonic’s decision to build a $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto is extraordinarily good and important news for the region, and for the state of Kansas — with a caveat or two, which we’ll get to shortly.

The formal announcement came Wednesday afternoon in Topeka from Gov. Laura Kelly, who not coincidentally is in the middle of a tough reelection campaign. The company has pledged to build the battery factory on the site of the old Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, which was closed years ago.

It should eventually provide 4,000 jobs directly, with another 4,000 jobs in ancillary and support businesses in the area.

“We are honored that you have chosen Kansas,” Kelly told company officials in prepared remarks. “We will work every day to be worthy of the trust you have placed in us.”

We don’t yet know the specifics of the plant’s construction — when work will begin, how long it will take to build or what other improvements may be needed in the area. The competition for the plant was fierce, and many of the details were kept under wraps, and still are.

Finding a new use for the ammunition plant site is a victory for Johnson County, and the region, and Kansas. (A few wags will pause to note that a Wizard of Oz theme park planned for part of the land was never built, which turned out to be a good thing.)

The federal government has spent years cleaning up the site. That effort has been rewarded.

At the same time, enormous investments in infrastructure may still be required. Roads must handle increased traffic. Water and sewer service may need upgrades. Kansans will want to pay close attention to those specifics in the months and years ahead — including the cost, and quality of the improvements.

Kansas offered massive public incentives for the project, estimated to reach $1 billion or more (some claim the package is closer to $830 million). Those incentives were apparently essential, and Republicans in the Legislature should be applauded for their decision to support the package, despite its obvious political benefits to Kelly.

But she — and they — must make sure Panasonic honors its commitments for jobs and growth before those incentives are handed out. Kansas must keep Wisconsin’s Foxconn debacle firmly in mind. In that case, a foreign firm promised a $10 billion plant after the state offered $3 billion in incentives.

“This is a great day for American workers, and manufacturers, and for everyone who believes in the concept, and the label, ‘Made in the USA,’“ President Donald Trump declared at the time.

The megaplant was never built. The jobs never came. As of last year, the site contained a few storage facilities and a fraction of the employment the company promised. Wisconsin had to scramble to get some of its money back, and may not recover all of it.

There is no evidence a similar fate awaits the Panasonic plant in De Soto, but caution remains prudent as the project moves forward.

Finally, environmental concerns must be addressed. The process Panasonic will use to manufacture batteries must be clean. The last thing Kansas or De Soto needs is a plant that repollutes a site painstakingly recovered over the last decade or so.

There are other details to address in the days ahead — permitting, construction contracts, timetables, hiring opportunities and training must be figured out. Officials from De Soto and Johnson County must keep their eyes on this project. Kansans, too. And Missourians, for that matter. Some workers may choose to live in that state.

But let’s not quibble today. The biggest economic development project in Kansas history is on the horizon. From what we know today, that’s the best news in the state in some time.