News /
Manufacturing monopile foundations for the global wind industry
2022-12-05
Nucor's state-of-the-art $1.9bn steel mill in western Kentucky is the United States first offshore wind-ready facility, recently rolling out its inaugural plate to meet a crucial market need. The S&P Global Platts estimates that steel consumption driven by the global wind industry will hit 144 million tonnes by 2030; this Brandenburg facility has the capacity to manufacture thick plates used in wind tower monopile foundations, thus fulfilling a major bottleneck in the US supply chain.
CEO Leon Topalian of Nucor states they will not only provide quality products but also sustainable plant items for military use, infrastructure projects, heavy equipment and more. In order to meet President Joe Biden's goal of 30GW by 2030, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) had considered requiring bidders to include procurement of only US-made steel in their Round 3 solicitation; however this was scrapped due to costs being too high.
US Wind, majority owned by Italian energy firm Renexia, has pledged a monopile manufacturing plant at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County's former Bethlehem steelworks as part of its 2021 Round 2 winning bid. Nancy Sopko, director of external affairs for US Wind commended Nucor Steel on the launch of their facility and said that strong steel is essential for components used in offshore wind facilities.
With Marmen and Welcon planning a tower-making facility in Wisconsin and German engineering firm EEW creating a monopile manufacturing plant in Paulsboro, New Jersey, the US is slowly but surely beginning to build the wind-ready infrastructure it needs to meet Biden's 2030 goal.
This is an exciting step forward towards making renewable energy more accessible not just in America, but globally.
Nucor's state-of-the-art $1.9bn steel mill in western Kentucky is the United States first offshore wind-ready facility, recently rolling out its inaugural plate to meet a crucial market need. The S&P Global Platts estimates that steel consumption driven by the global wind industry will hit 144 million tonnes by 2030; this Brandenburg facility has the capacity to manufacture thick plates used in wind tower monopile foundations, thus fulfilling a major bottleneck in the US supply chain.
CEO Leon Topalian of Nucor states they will not only provide quality products but also sustainable plant items for military use, infrastructure projects, heavy equipment and more. In order to meet President Joe Biden's goal of 30GW by 2030, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) had considered requiring bidders to include procurement of only US-made steel in their Round 3 solicitation; however this was scrapped due to costs being too high.
US Wind, majority owned by Italian energy firm Renexia, has pledged a monopile manufacturing plant at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County's former Bethlehem steelworks as part of its 2021 Round 2 winning bid. Nancy Sopko, director of external affairs for US Wind commended Nucor Steel on the launch of their facility and said that strong steel is essential for components used in offshore wind facilities.
With Marmen and Welcon planning a tower-making facility in Wisconsin and German engineering firm EEW creating a monopile manufacturing plant in Paulsboro, New Jersey, the US is slowly but surely beginning to build the wind-ready infrastructure it needs to meet Biden's 2030 goal.
This is an exciting step forward towards making renewable energy more accessible not just in America, but globally.