Biden visits Pueblo factory of S. Korean wind tower maker, highlights IRA outcomes

▲ President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to CS Wind, a South Korean wind tower maker in Pueblo, Colorado, on Nov. 29, 2023, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)

Biden-S Korean firm

Biden visits Pueblo factory of S. Korean wind tower maker, highlights IRA outcomes

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Joe Biden visited a Colorado-based factory of a South Korean wind tower maker Wednesday, in a trip meant to highlight his economic agenda to promote clean energy investment and create jobs.

Biden toured the factory of CS Wind Corp. in Pueblo, the world's largest wind tower manufacturer, as he is gearing up for reelection with a focus on economic achievements, including outcomes of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that entails incentives to transition to clean energy and address climate change.

Headquartered in South Korea, CS Wind took over the U.S. operation in 2021. After Biden signed the IRA into law in August last year, the company announced a plan to expand U.S. production facilities and add hundreds of jobs there.

"Here in Colorado, CS Wind, the Korean company, makes towers and wind turbines," he said. "They used to make all their wind towers abroad. Then, they decided to make them here in America. Today, the CS Wind factory in Colorado is the largest wind power manufacturer in the entire world."

Casting the IRA as the "significant investment combating the existential threat of climate change," Biden stressed incentives under the law have been spurring clean energy projects, including one using wind towers made in America.

"Because of my investment-in-America agenda, CS Wind plans to invest an additional $200 million to expand the facility right here," he said.

During his speech, Biden apparently mistook current South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for the former president, "Mr. Moon" Jae-in.

"Chairman of CS Wind, Gim (Seong-gon) ... we've had more pictures taken together lately that he's probably going to hurt his reputation back home," he said in jest. "But I am friends with your leader, Mr. Moon."

Among the participants in the event were South Korean Ambassador to the United States Cho Hyun-dong, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. John Hickenlooper.

In his encounters with key U.S. participants, Cho pointed out that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is expanding into various areas, including clean energy, according to the South Korean Embassy.

"As South Korean enterprises' investment in clean energy and other sectors has been on the rise, our embassy will actively promote their activities and continuously work to expand the horizons of cooperation between South Korea and the U.S.," the embassy said in a statement.

CS Wind has overseas operations in the U.S., China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkey, Portugal and Vietnam.

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