Global Technical Systems (GTS) announced its plan to invest $54.7 million in the construction of a 500,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center in Virginia Beach. The new manufacturing facility will be located at the site of the former Owl’s Creek Golf Course and will produce and distribute 100 percent green energy storage using advanced composites and engineering technologies.
The premier provider of advanced engineering solutions for defense, homeland security and related U.S. Government and international customers was founded in Virginia Beach in 1997. When GTS chose to expand with a green energy manufacturing center, the company selected Virginia Beach over other markets in Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Washington, D.C. The facility will be operational in 2019 and will create 1,100 new jobs with an average annual salary of $74,000.
In order to store energy, GTS will use advanced carbon fiber technology void of any hazardous chemicals to create a clean electro-mechanical device that stores solar, power grid, wind and water energy, all of which can be released on demand when needed.
“We have recently developed game-changing technologies that we believe will shape the future of renewable energy, grid modernization and other energy-dense storage applications,” says GTS CEO Terry Spritzer. “With this new facility, GTS anticipates rapidly expanding to capture an emerging trillion-plus dollar grid storage market that will reshape the way our utilities address modernization including offsetting the need for new electric generation.”
Gov. Terry McAuliffe, in collaboration with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the City of Virginia Beach, approved a total of $4.8 million in grants to secure the project. The Virginia Beach Development Authority plans to approve another $1.8 million grant from the Economic Development Incentive Program based on the company’s capital investment and job creation. The cost of employee training activities will be funded by the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
