U.S. Wind Facility, workers in Sparrows Point get visit from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore
BALTIMORE - Maryland Gov. Wes Moore toured the U.S. Wind facility in Sparrows Point Monday.
He met with the people who will have a hand in the building of an offshore wind manufacturing yard in Baltimore.
At the site of the Old Bethlehem Steel Plant, hundreds of people are working on this project
"Every time I come out here, I get more excited about our future," Gov. Moore said.
Sparrows Point is the home of the future of energy in Maryland.
"We're hoping that we are going to write the next chapter here at Sparrows Point," said U.S. Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski. "This was the home of the biggest steel mill in the world once and hadn't been really used much in the last few decades. We want to create the next generation opportunity for jobs here."
As many as 500 people will work at the U.S. Winds facility in Sparrows Point.
The towers that wind turbines sit on will be made in Baltimore. Those towers are 300 feet long and about 3,000 tons of steel.
"This is exciting because this is going to help set the tone for how Maryland is thinking about moving into the future, in doing it in a way that supports families with work, wages and wealth."
The people of Maryland are why the governor believes the state can be a leader in offshore wind energy.
"I think there are a lot of geographic benefits that the state of Maryland has that make us prepared to be an offshore wind leader, but it's also about the measure of entrepreneurial activity and vigor that we have in the state of Maryland that we want to compete," Gov. Moore said. "We think this is not only an industry we won't just compete in, but an industry that we can win in."
The facility is about two years away from construction.
It is still in the planning phase and going through the environmental permitting process which takes years to do.
