Japanese trading company Mitsui and Spanish wind turbine manufacturer GRI Renewable Industries are considering construction of a joint venture wind tower plant to supply the US offshore wind industry.
The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to study the potential project, GRI said on 17 August. The plant would be located on the US east coast.
Electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Nucor would serve as a supply chain partner for the joint venture by providing heavy-gauge steel plate.
Nucor started up its 1.2mn short tons (st)/yr plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, in December with final commissioning completed in the first quarter. The mill, built to target the offshore wind industry, was originally expected to produce half of its capacity in 2023, which has since been revised down to 300,000st, or one-quarter of its total rated capacity.
German-based offshore wind turbine monopile producer EEW has built the first phase of a monopile production facility in Paulsboro, New Jersey. When the second phase is complete in 2024, the plant will have a capacity to produce 100 monopiles/yr.
In March, Baltimore-based US Wind announced it planned to form a long-term partnership with Spanish-based Haizea Wind Group to build an offshore wind manufacturing facility called Sparrows Point Steel in Maryland. Sparrows Point, which used to house a Bethlehem Steel mill, has been broadly repurposed for warehousing and other uses.
