Spanish tower maker eyes US offshore wind factory

by Craig Richard 25 August 2023

Spanish wind turbine tower manufacturer GRI Renewable Industries and the US subsidiary of Japanese investment and trading giant Mitsui are considering forming a joint venture to invest in a US factory.

The partners have signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint venture, and are analysing potential locations for a factory on the US east coast to produce offshore wind towers from 2026.

US steel producer and recycler Nucor Corporation is in line to serve as a strategic supply chain partner for the joint venture, and is due to provide steel for offshore wind tower construction, including heavy-gauge steel plate.

GRI and Mitsui described the US offshore wind sector as “growing”.

Fully commissioned US offshore wind farms today total 42MW, but the Biden administration has set a target of 30GW of capacity by 2030.

GRI entered the offshore wind sector in 2018 when it opened a new factory in its home market. It is also looking to build an offshore wind turbine tower factory in the UK.