Nucor Steel Texas in Jewett has been selected to provide up to 75,000 tons of recycled steel products as part of the "Renewable Energy Super Highway" that will move wind power from West Texas to the rest of the state.

The "super highway" includes about 3,800 transmission line towers to be made from recycled steel that will be melted, cast, rolled, and shipped from the Jewett facility.

According to initial estimates, Nucor-Jewett will produce between 55,000 and 75,000 tons of steel for the construction over the next three years.

The lattice towers, which will be 120 to 130 feet high, will serve as the backbone of the system. Fabrication is scheduled to begin immediately.

"Our team earned this business because we have consistently been the safest, highest-quality, most productive, most profitable, and most environmentally responsible operation possible," says Chad Utermark, vice president and general manager. "That's what we do best, and it's paying off for our team members and our community."

Utermark adds that one of the significant benefits to the community - and to the entire nation - is that the decision to have Nucor provide the steel helps keep jobs in the United States, in Texas, and in the region.

"There were a lot of large, international firms going after this business," he continues. "While I am very proud of our team for putting us in a position to win the contract, I am also proud that we will be playing a role in preserving jobs and creating opportunity."

He also says that helping to deliver clean, renewable energy to Texans reinforced the mill's longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship.

"This project is another opportunity to demonstrate that environmental responsibility is in our nature," Utermark explains. "Nucor Steel Texas will melt, cast and roll the steel needed to support this project using 100 percent recycled scrap metal. This is scrap metal that would otherwise fill our landfills or be discarded along roads and bar ditches. When we melt the scrap, our process allows us to capture and reharvest the energy used to produce the steel."

The Renewable Energy Super Highway is being built as part of a broader initiative by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to construct transmission improvements that will interconnect existing and future renewable energy facilities to transmit electricity from Competitive Renewable Energy Zones identified by the PUCT.

Nucor is the largest recycler in the United States, handling more than 20 million tons of scrap metal each year. Nucor and affiliates are manufacturers of steel and steel products, with operating facilities in 19 states, including four sites in Texas.

Nucor has been in Jewett for more than 35 years and currently recycles over 1 million tons of steel each year.

The facility produces a wide range of products that include carbon and steel angles, rounds, flats, channels, and reinforcing bars.