The once largest steel plant in the world is to be converted into an offshore wind turbine factory.
The new agreement will see US Wind, a company owned by Renexia, invest $150 million in this new facility that will build "monopile foundations and other steel components needed for US Wind’s first two Maryland offshore wind projects- MarWin and Momentum Wind – and have the capabilities to service the entire US offshore wind market on the East Coast," said a statement by US Wind.
$47.4 million has additionally been granted by the US Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration to develop the Baltimore County Offshore Wind Manufacturing Hub.
The government funds will be utilized to prepare the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard and the eventual location of Sparrows Point Steel—Maryland's first permanent offshore wind component factory—to accept large freight. Additionally, funds from the Port Infrastructure Development Program will be utilized for 'site rehabilitation and environmental efforts', according to a statement released by US Congressman Kweisi Mfume, one of the six lawmakers who made the announcement.
"Through both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US and back to Maryland, and this investment will help make Baltimore a competitive manufacturing hub for offshore wind and a premier destination for clean energy growth."
Statement from Maryland lawmakers
The new project is also slated to bring jobs back to the manufacturing industry in Maryland. "Through both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re bringing manufacturing jobs back to the US and back to Maryland, and this investment will help make Baltimore a competitive manufacturing hub for offshore wind and a premier destination for clean energy growth," said a statement from Maryland lawmakers.
Source: Electrek