Spanish tower maker eyes US offshore wind factory
Spanish tower maker eyes US offshore wind factory | Windpower Monthly
Spanish wind turbine tower manufacturer GRI Renewable Industries and the US subsidiary of Japanese investment and trading giant Mitsui are considering forming a joint venture to invest in a US factory.
The partners have signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint venture, and are analysing potential locations for a factory on the US east coast to produce offshore wind towers from 2026.
US steel producer and recycler Nucor Corporation is in line to serve as a strategic supply chain partner for the joint venture, and is due to provide steel for offshore wind tower construction, including heavy-gauge steel plate.
GRI and Mitsui described the US offshore wind sector as “growing”.
Fully commissioned US offshore wind farms today total 42MW, but the Biden administration has set a target of 30GW of capacity by 2030.
GRI entered the offshore wind sector in 2018 when it opened a new factory in its home market. It is also looking to build an offshore wind turbine tower factory in the UK.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: wind
Decades of government support for the development of wind energy has resulted in lower costs and a rapidly growing share of electricity generated by wind turbines. Wind in 2019 accounted for 7.3 percent of electrical generation, surpassing for the first time hydropower at 7.0 percent.