The announcement was made on 7 November by the US Congressman Kweisi Mfume, Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, and Jamie Raskin (all D-Md.).
The funding was made available through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program for fiscal year 2023.
The federal dollars will be used to prepare the former site of the Bethlehem Steel shipyard and the future site of Sparrows Point Steel—Maryland’s first permanent offshore wind component factory – to accommodate heavy cargo onsite.
In March, US Wind, the developer of the MarWin and Momentum Wind projects in Maryland, partnered with Haizea Wind Group to manage and operate Sparrows Steel.
The new facility in Baltimore County will serve for the manufacture of steel components for the US offshore wind industry, including monopiles and towers, with US Wind to be among the first to procure components from the factory.
Funds will also be used for site remediation and environmental activities.
“Through both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and back to Maryland, and this investment will help make Baltimore a competitive manufacturing hub for offshore wind and a premier destination for clean energy growth,” said the lawmakers.
“In addition to the estimated 500 union jobs and highly sought after storage space supported by this project, these funds will help further establish Maryland as an innovation hub for clean energy and offshore wind manufacturing.”
