Dive Brief:
- JSW Steel USA is investing $110 million to upgrade its steel plate mill in Baytown, Texas, the company announced June 24 at the federal SelectUSA Investment Summit.
- A subsidiary of India-based JSW Group, the Baytown plant produces steel plates used for offshore wind, monopile transition pieces and towers, JSW Steel USA board member Divyakumar Bhair said at the summit.
- The funds will upgrade the Baytown facility’s “clean steel” manufacturing processes of monopile steel plates supporting the Biden administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes, according to the release.
Dive Insight:
JSW Steel’s Baytown investment builds off of the company’s previous $145 million plan to modernize its Mingo Junction, Ohio, plant mills, Bhair said.
“These investments have the potential to significantly reduce U.S. import reliance in the infrastructure and renewable energy sectors,” Parth Jindal, Director of JSW Steel USA, said in the release.
The upgrades for both plants are expected to be completed and commissioned by fiscal year 2026.
The investments are also in line with the Build America, Buy America Act, implemented under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which requires that all infrastructure projects use domestically made iron and steel products and construction materials.
JSW Steel was among several global manufacturers to announce new investments at last month’s SelectUSA Investment Summit.
Norway-based solar company NorSun disclosed plans to invest $620 million in its first U.S. silicon ingot and solar wafer manufacturing facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma. UK-based startup Enso also announced plans to spend $500 million to establish a carbon-neutral tire factory in the U.S.
Finally, Italy-based Westrafo announced the company’s first U.S.-based medium- and high-voltage transformers and energy solutions systems facility in Trotwood, Ohio.