U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, left, and TIMET Human Resources Manager Hannah Hesson, center, listen as BHE Renewables President/CEO Alicia Knapp talks Friday about the company’s construction of a renewable energy microgrid system in Jackson County. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

MILLWOOD — U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito on Friday expressed excitement at the speed of development at the TIMET site in Jackson County and support for removing tariffs that add costs to the company’s raw materials.

Capito, R-W.Va., toured the space at the former Century Aluminum site near Ravenswood where TIMET is constructing a titanium melt facility and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Renewables is building a microgrid system to power it.

“I’m excited with what I see, and I’m impressed with how fast it’s gone,” Capito said, after speaking with representatives from both companies about the projects’ timelines and how they will work.

“TIMET’s really moving the dirt here,” she said, adding that the company’s arrival will “help us get into the space race and the aerospace industry.”

When operational, the facility will produce processed titanium alloy chip and titanium ingots using one electron beam hearth melter and seven vacuum arc remelt furnaces, said Patrick Pettey, quality and technology director for TIMET. Approximately 50% of the company’s products are used in aerospace engines and 35% in airframe structures.

TIMET Human Resources Manager Hannah Hesson, left, talks with U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito about the company’s reception in and efforts to support the Jackson County community during a tour of the site Friday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“This is our bread and butter,” Pettey said. “This is where we live.”

One issue company officials spoke to Capito about is the tariff on imports of titanium sponge, the raw material TIMET uses. Vice President of Purchasing Jeff Easto said all titanium producers pay a 15% import tariff despite the fact that there are no producers of the material in the United States.

“There’s not a domestic industry that needs to be protected,” he said.

That means TIMET and other domestic manufacturers’ products cost 15 cents more on the dollar than those based in countries without such tariffs, Easto said.

Capito has co-sponsored legislation to remove the tariff.

BHE Renewables President/CEO Alicia Knapp, left, answers questions from U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito about its project in Jackson County during a site tour Friday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

“We want to be able to have our American products competitive everywhere,” she said.

The company has been welcomed with open arms by the community, said Hannah Hesson, TIMET human resources manager. There are 39 local employees now, with some of them training at TIMET’s Morgantown, Pa., facility on the processes they’ll be using in Millwood once the plant is operational, expected in the second quarter of 2025. The company expects to employ 200 people locally once everything is up and running, but they already have more than 300 pre-screened interested and qualified candidates, Hesson said.

In addition, the company is contributing to the community in a variety of ways, including installing solar lights at Ripley High School and distributing educational materials on photosynthesis at the Jackson County Fair.

As the TIMET project takes shape, BHE Renewables is preparing to bring in its solar array and batteries to store the energy it generates. The microgrid will generate 106 megawatts of electricity to meet TIMET’s energy load over the course of a year, said Alicia Knapp, president/CEO of BHE Renewables.

Capito noted West Virginia’s history as an energy producer, particularly with fossil fuels, as the company expands renewable energy options here.

“I think it just kind of shows West Virginia’s ready to innovate,” she said.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com