On the site of a former steel plant in the heart of coal country last year, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice proudly signed a bill steering state funds toward energy-storage company Form Energy’s plans to construct a new battery manufacturing facility. The project was largely enabled with federal incentives and tax credits through President Biden’s climate-friendly Inflation Reduction Act. On a cool February afternoon, with his ubiquitous English bulldog sitting nearby, Justice said, “This technology here is unbelievable. That’s all there is to it. It’s our job to embrace and it’s our job to move forward in every way.”
More than 18 months later, construction is almost complete, and the emerging plant was recently praised by the state’s junior U.S. Sen. Shelly Moore Capito, who called it a “great investment” while visiting the site in Weirton, West Virginia, earlier this month.
