The site chosen for the new aerospace manufacturing hub in Jackson County is part of West Virginia’s industrial past.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy will bring manufacturing jobs back to 2,000 acres in Ravenswood where hundreds once worked.
It’s the former site of Century Aluminum. The plant opened in 1957 and closed during the Great Recession in 2009.
State officials attempted to reopen the plant, but that fell through when the company told them the price of electricity was too high.
A New Jersey company got a $15 million loan from the West Virginia Economic Development Authority to redevelop the site.
When that company defaulted on its loan, the state took over the property and finished cleaning it up. The future aerospace plant will be powered with 100 percent renewable energy.