US energy secretary, Sen. Bob Casey in Leetsdale to celebrate grand opening of new steel facility
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U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) were in Leetsdale, Allegheny County on Tuesday to celebrate the grand opening of a new BCI Steel production facility at the site of a former Bethlehem Steel plant.
“Pittsburgh is the emblematic community that has risen from the ashes, like a phoenix,” said Granholm.
“We’re thinking about some of that history, but the most important word today, I think, in terms of our energy future is the word future, and that’s what we’re here to celebrate,” said Casey.
The new facility is manufacturing Nextracker parts to be used for solar energy production within large scale U.S. solar power plants.
“Think of all the forms of energy that have been engineered here. It’s across the board and in the new economy, the hydrogen economy. But not so much in solar. So why not bring solar to Pittsburgh as well, right?” said BCI Steel CEO Matt Carroll.
BCI Steel’s production will ramp up in phases.
Phase one, which is now underway, brings 60-70 jobs to Allegheny County, with more to follow in later stages.
“It’s going to put a lot of our people to work, but it also shows our commitment to investing in the future,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
The first products produced in the Leetsdale facility are scheduled to be shipped out the week of July 11.
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