The United Kingdom is building the largest monopile factory in the world, creating key parts for wind turbines while creating thousands of new jobs. This project has the potential to benefit the environment and local economies alike.
U.S.-based steel company SeAH is partnering with other European companies to create the SeAH Wind Monopile Factory. It is in the early stages of developing a 90-acre construction site where monopiles will be built, according to Electrek.
Monopiles are the base poles of wind turbines that are driven into the seabed and support the wind power load while transforming wind power into green electricity. This project is estimated to create over 2,000 new jobs, and its primary customer will be leading clean energy company Orsted, per the publication.
Projects focused on the production of clean energy, like wind power, have many economic benefits. A report from Yale's Center for Business and the Environment states that renewable energy projects "represent billions of dollars in capital investments and provide thousands of construction and maintenance jobs," such as the SeAH monopile project. It further states that once renewable energy projects are online, they "provide steady revenue" to any governments involved.
Along with benefiting local economies, clean energy projects are also paramount in addressing severe weather and rising temperatures that have been caused primarily by dirty energy from oil and coal.
Clean energy is important at a large scale, like the SeAH project, and it is also helpful at smaller scales, like for individual homes.
A commenter on the Electrek article challenged the project, stating "the steel industry is the third largest producer of CO2." Another commenter countered this point, writing: "Truth is, if we want electricity, have to build a plant to generate it. … Once built, there are no carbon emissions. … Don't let perfection be the enemy of good."
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