Ravenswood Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Federal Grant Aims To Decarbonize Ravenswood Aluminum Plant

The Energy Department will make as much as $75 million available to Constellium to produce aluminum with low or no carbon.

A U.S. Department of Energy grant will take the carbon dioxide emissions out of an aluminum plant in Jackson County.

The Energy Department will make as much as $75 million available to Constellium to produce aluminum with low or no carbon.

The Ravenswood plant produces aluminum products for aerospace, defense, marine and transportation sectors.

Among other improvements, its furnaces would be able to burn clean hydrogen, which generates no carbon emissions.

Constellium would be among five aluminum facilities nationwide to receive investment.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said the plant will receive another $23 million from the spending bill Congress passed on Friday.

“More investments have come to our state than ever before in our history at one time,” he said. “We’ve got more people interested in coming to West Virginia.”

The Energy Department also plans to locate a new aluminum smelter in Kentucky. It would be the nation’s first in 45 years.

The $75 million comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

Manchin had a pivotal role in getting both bills through a divided Congress, though he has criticized the White House about some of its implementation of their provisions.

West Virginia American Water Seeking Rate Increase

West Virginia American Water has applied to the Public Service Commission to build a new water plant at the former Century Aluminum site in Jackson County to support development planned there by Berkshire Hathaway.

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Ravenswood lost hundreds of jobs when Century Aluminum closed, and the new development could help to bring jobs back to the area. However, residents will see an increase in their water rates.

The average customer that uses 3,000 gallons of water a month will pay a $0.38 increase or $4.56 annually. This increase will be for all customers of West Virginia American Water, not just those in Jackson County.

“Should people in other counties be paying to support jobs in Jackson County?” asked Gary Zuckett of Citizen Action Group. “The economic development authority obviously thinks that’s the case, we’ll see what the Public Service Commission says. The project is supported by the West Virginia Economic Development Office.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting reached out to West Virginia American Water, the Public Service Commission and the county commissions in Jackson and Kanawha counties but all declined to comment on the project application.

Justice, U.S. Lawmakers Break Ground On Berkshire Hathaway Project

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.

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.

Former Century Aluminum Site To Get New Life, Manufacturing Jobs

Berkshire Hathaway Energy will bring manufacturing jobs back to 2,000 acres in Ravenswood where hundreds once worked.

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.

October 31, 1990: Ravenswood Aluminum Workers Locked Out

On October 31, 1990, union workers at Ravenswood Aluminum arrived as usual for their midnight shift.

Only this time, they were turned away from the gates. Thus began one of the most bitter labor disputes of the late 20^th century.

From the time Kaiser Aluminum opened the Ravenswood plant in 1954 until it sold its operations in 1988, there had never been a strike. But, workers felt that the new owners’ cost-cutting measures were jeopardizing their safety. In fact, four workers had been killed on the job just the summer before the conflict began.

The plant’s owners balked at the workers’ contract demands, locked them out of the plant, and hired replacement workers. As employees took to the picket lines, the conflict quickly grew ugly. Shootings, destruction of property, and other acts of violence tore the town of Ravenswood apart over the next 20 months.

The end came only when Ravenswood Aluminum officials feared a negative ruling from the federal National Labor Relations Board. They finally returned to the bargaining table in June 1992 and agreed to a settlement that allowed the union workers to return to work.

July 19, 1863: Morgan's Raiding Ends at Buffington Island

On July 19, 1863, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s daring raid across Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio came to an end on Buffington Island, located in the Ohio River near Ravenswood in Jackson County.

Morgan’s raid was the only time a large Southern force entered Indiana or Ohio during the Civil War. His 2,400 raiders led local militias and growing numbers of Union troops on a wild chase across three states.

During his retreat, Morgan chose an Ohio River crossing known as Buffington’s Ford. On July 19—overtaken by federal troops, including the 13^th West Virginia Infantry, local militia, and three U.S. Navy gunboats—Morgan turned and fought his pursuers on the Ohio mainland adjacent to the island. The battle scattered Morgan’s forces and spilled over onto Buffington Island when a number of his men crossed above the island to swim to the Jackson County shore. Many drowned, but some, with the aid of Confederate supporters in West Virginia, made it back to Southern lines.

The Battle of Buffington Island was the only significant naval action to occur in West Virginia waters during the Civil War.