State leaders broke ground on Saturday for an economic development project in Jackson County.
Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-WV, and Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, Rep. Carol Miller, R-WV, and other dignitaries came to Ravenswood to break ground on an aerospace manufacturing hub.
The project will be built on the site of the former Century Aluminum plant. Precision Castparts will build titanium parts for the aerospace industry and employ about 200 workers.
It will also be powered by a renewable energy microgrid built by Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Our Next Energy, or ONE, will build utility-scale lithium storage batteries and employ another 100 workers. That operation is scheduled to begin in 2025.
The total investment in the Ravenswood site is more than $500 million.
Last month, Justice signed a bill that will bring a Form Energy long-duration storage battery plant to the site of a former steel plant in Weirton.