Cleveland-Cliffs to open transformer plant in WV
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has announced that it will establish a new distribution transformer production plant in Weirton, West Virginia.
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USA, Cleveland: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has announced that it will establish a new distribution transformer production plant in Weirton, West Virginia. This downstream direct investment by will address the critical shortage of distribution transformers that is stifling economic growth across the United States. The company will repurpose its Half Moon Warehouse in Weirton to start production of three-phase distribution transformers, with a total capital investment is $150 million, of which $50 million will be granted by the state of West Virginia to Cliffs through a forgivable loan. The new plant could come online in the first half of 2026. The efficiency standards for distribution transformers recently promulgated by the Department of Energy support the long-term utilization of American-made Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel (GOES), ensuring the viability of the investment.
Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “Distribution transformers are critical to the maintenance and expansion of America’s electric grid. These transformers are in short supply, and that shortage stifles economic growth across the country. The shortage will continue to be exacerbated by the widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence in virtually all sectors of the economy, which will exponentially increase the consumption of electricity, in the United States and worldwide. Said another way, there will be no AI without electricity, and there will be no electricity without transformers. Our vision for Weirton is to develop a first-of-a-kind center of excellence for transformer manufacturing that will provide good paying, middle class jobs to skilled workers, and will service our country’s electrical infrastructure needs.”
Source: Cleveland-Cliffs
#distribution transformers#transformer manufacturing#transformer shortage#USA#West Virginia