House subcommittee questions SOAR incentives, national security and local opposition in Goshen battery project

The House Oversight Subcommittee on Corporate Subsidies and State Investments heard testimony Tuesday on state incentives provided for the Goshen EV battery project and on related community and national-security concerns.

The hearing focused on three intertwined strands: a timeline and explanation of how the project developed in Mecosta County, which speaker Randy Thelen, president and CEO of The Right Place, described; the amounts and status of state SOAR (Strategic Opportunities for Automotive and Related) program commitments; and national-security warnings about Chinese-linked firms presented by Joseph Sella, a former U.S. ambassador to Fiji and co-founder of the Michigan China Economic and Security Review Group. John Mazzina, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, also testified and criticized subsidy assumptions and projected returns.

Why it matters: The committee sought clarity on what Michigan taxpayers have committed, what has actually been disbursed and whether federal national-security review or litigation could change the project’s prospects. Witnesses described local political upheaval, litigation between the company and a township, and differing views on whether due diligence and federal reviews were sufficient.

The Right Place’s timeline and state funding. Randy Thelen, president and CEO of The Right Place, told the panel he and the local economic development…