“ When Nucor comes to a community, we are there for the long-term,” he says.“ Outside of our direct employment and capital investment, a major project like ours will lead to other investments with compounding indirect jobs.”
Nucor Steel West Virginia plans to continue seeking workforce development partnerships to build and train its talent. Nucor also plans to conduct outreach efforts in the community and its school system. Already contributing over 550 hours of community service events as well as 20 educational and STEM programs around Mason County, the company will stand as a welcome addition to Apple Grove.
Renewable resource efforts continue in the energy sector with Berkshire- Hathaway Energy( BHE) Renewables’ new energy microgrid in Ravenswood. This development will be used to power another new BHE Renewables project: a TIMET titanium melt facility. With a 106-megawatt solar array and
Photo by Nucor Steel West Virginia.
“ We are excited to continue demonstrating that American manufacturing for innovative energy technology is alive and well right here in the industrial heartland of West Virginia and the Ohio Valley.”
50-megawatt battery energy storage system, the microgrid will serve 70 % of the facility’ s expected energy demand.
BHE Renewables decided to journey to the Mountain State when Senator Glenn Jeffries reached out to the company with an invitation to explore its opportunities, where it saw the state’ s development potential and decided to set ground in Ravenswood. Since the announcement of the microgrid project, BHE Renewables and the BHER Foundation have invested more than $ 1 million in local schools as well as nonprofits and community events.
John Guy, senior vice president of renewable development at BHE Renewables, says the microgrid will be constructed in three phases, adjacent to the needs of the TIMET facility. The three phases will begin respectively in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Construction of the microgrid is progressing, and solar panels will likely be installed beginning in spring this year.
Photo by Gestamp.
Photo by Form Energy.
“ The microgrid at Ravenswood demonstrates that renewable energy can be a foundation for job creation and economic revitalization,” Guy says.
In May 2023, Form Energy began work on Form Factory 1, a high-volume battery manufacturing facility, the first of the company’ s kind. The facility will work to meet the increasing demand for energy in a safe and sustainable way by producing batteries that use low-cost water, iron and air as materials. Form Factory 1 is located in Weirton on the site of the former Weirton Steel Mill.
A year after the groundbreaking of Form Factory 1, its construction was complete, and in September 2024 the company began trial production of the iron-air batteries. Production and commercial deployment will begin later this year. Form Energy estimates that by 2028, Form Factory 1 will have expanded to more than 1 million square feet, 750 employees and a production capacity of at least 500 megawatts of batteries per year.
Form Energy chose to build the facility in Weirton to help restore its economic vitality. Not only has Form Factory 1 already employed 350 full-time employees, but the project also hired hundreds of workers during its initial construction and current expansion. Through working with local educational institutions, Form Energy hopes to continue training future employees in energy manufacturing.
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