U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at Arcosa, a wind tower manufacturing facility, in Belen, New Mexico, August 9, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Joe Biden visited a former Solo cup factory that has been renovated into a wind tower plant in Belen, New Mexico on Wednesday, where he hailed his green energy economic plan at a groundbreaking for the new facility.
“For the longest time we’ve been told to give up on American manufacturing — that it can’t happen again,” Biden said. “I’ve never believed that. As I’ve said: America used to lead the world in manufacturing. We’re going to do it again.”
The new Arcosa factory is expected to create 250 new jobs in a state where more than one in six residents lives in poverty.
“What Arcosa is doing here is part of a much broader clean energy manufacturing boom, it’s going to happen in big cities and rural communities as well,” Biden said. “Whether you live in a blue state or a red state, I’m going to keep my promise.”
The event at the wind tower plant coincided with the year anniversary of the signing of the Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed a week later.
The White House said that after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Arcosa received $1.1 billion in new wind tower orders, prompting it to build this new plant.
Arcosa was the latest stop in Biden’s swing across the southwestern United States this week, where he has been highlighting his administration’s climate change initiatives.
The president was in Arizona on Tuesday, where he designated the lands surrounding the Grand Canyon a national monument.